Users who uninstalled the app were nervously checking their iPhones and Android smartphones to see that it was still not accessible for download three days after ByteDance’s TikTok went black and was swiftly restored in the United States.
Devices with the software allegedly downloaded were auctioned on eBay for as much as $50,000 by those hoping to profit quickly from the desperate situation of TikTok followers.
On Tuesday, TikTok remained in legal purgatory, unable to be downloaded from the US versions of the Google and Apple app stores. Uncertain of its validity, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday that delays the implementation of a 75-day ban on the well-known short-video app owned by China.
Following Trump’s promises that the corporation and its partners would not be subject to heavy fines for maintaining the program, TikTok restarted operations, although it had not yet made its way back to app stores. Lemon8 and CapCut, two other ByteDance applications, were also no longer accessible.
In the meantime, efforts to find a buyer for TikTok persisted. On Tuesday, Trump stated that if Tesla CEO Elon Musk wanted to purchase the app, he was amenable to the idea.
Additionally, businessmen Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary met with John Moolenaar, the chair of the House Select Committee on China, to discuss the possible privatization of TikTok.
The Project Liberty group, led by billionaire businessman McCourt, has formally offered to purchase it, estimating the app’s unalgorithmic value at about $20 billion. Earlier this month, Project Liberty announced that O’Leary had joined the endeavor.
O’Leary stated in a media interview on Tuesday that while he would be open to a TikTok transaction, the existing legal framework would not allow it.
“That 50/50 deal, I would love to work with Trump on, so would every other potential buyer … But the problem with some of these ideas is they are inconsistent with the ruling of the Supreme Court,” the investor told media.
Users’ reactions to the back and forth have been divided; some had even considered quitting TikTok after witnessing Trump’s intense involvement in the talks that would lead to the ultimate sale of the app to one of his tech sector supporters.
“I do not want to continue being a pawn in this hellscape. I am not saying it will make a difference to TikTok but it will make a difference to me,” said Nicole Norman, a TikTok user, on Meta’s Threads app. “I will not be back on TikTok.”
However, some people want TikTok to return, which is impossible as long as Alphabet, the parent company of Google and Apple, does not make it accessible.
“I’ve been checking every day,” Lauren Scott, a provider of travel material, stated. Scott, 29, who is presently in Brazil, heard in some Facebook groups that if Americans overseas erased and downloaded the app again, they would be able to access it. She was left in uncertainty when that turned out not to be the case.
Analysts speculate that the delay may be due to Google and Apple waiting for more safeguards before evading the prohibition that penalizes the corporations for hosting or distributing the software.
A notice on Apple’s App Store said: “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in”. Google Play showed: “Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements.”
To obtain access, some users have been experimenting with multi-step procedures, such attempting to modify their phone’s position.
“Really hoping TikTok comes back to the app store ASAP, not wanting to do any of that VPN stuff to get it back,” said Lauren Nader, a TikTok user, on Threads.
Requests for response from TikTok, Apple, and Google were not answered.
Citing national security concerns, US lawmakers this year approved a rule supported by the US Supreme Court mandating that ByteDance sell TikTok or risk being banned. There are still a lot of Republican and Democratic MPs that want ByteDance to sell the app.
In exchange for keeping the app alive, Trump proposed that the US government should acquire half of TikTok’s US company. He also threatened to slap tariffs on China if Beijing rejected a deal.
China’s foreign ministry stated on Monday that businesses “decide independently” on issues pertaining to their operations and transactions, signaling for the first time this week that it would be amenable to a compromise that would keep TikTok functioning in the US.
Concerns over the tool’s future under a new ownership structure have led some users who are still using TikTok to claim that the algorithm of the app is “feeling different” since it returned to the internet.
TikTok welcomed users back on Sunday with the message, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
“I deactivated my account after it was ‘back’ this morning. I’m done with taking credit for the messes he starts,” said TikTok user Janel Samson on Threads.
As of Tuesday evening, more than 200 Android and iPhone smartphones that had the software installed were for sale on the website.
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