TikTok can continue to be downloaded through Android and iOS, for the time being

TikTok’s future continues to be tossed around in the US, but a new ruling from a federal judge means that it can continue to be downloaded through app stores from Apple and Google. The news comes from a New York Times report that released over the weekend.

This is in direct contrast to what Donald Trump stated would happen in the original executive order released regarding the potential TikTok ban due to national security. Originally, the executive order stated that the ByteDance-owned app would have to be removed from the app stores on September 28. The judge’s preliminary injunction stops that.

The judge does note that the ruling only stops the app’s removal from app stores, but “at this time,” it doesn’t have anything to do with an overarching ban that would see TikTok completely banned from the US. TikTok’s lawyers are happy with the outcoming, stating that a ban of the app would be “no different from the government locking the doors to a public forum.”

As for the future of TikTok, it is still very much up in the air. While a deal with Oracle and Walmart seems to be going through, Trump has pushed back on it, due to the Chinese-owned ByteDance still having majority control over the company until the new company, TikTok Global, is formed.

Honestly, it’s all a mess at this point, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens now.

What do you think? Are you against a TikTok ban? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube is now trialing its TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts, in India
• TikTok is suing the Trump administration because they think the app ban is bullshit
• Instagram has officially launched its TikTok clone, Reels, in over 50 countries
• Facebook really, really wants people to use its new Voter Information Center

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.