TikTok said on Friday it was allowing Android users in the United States to download and connect to the app via an ARC file from its website in an effort to circumvent restrictions on the popular short video platform in the country, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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Apple and Google have not restored TikTok to their app stores after a law came into effect in the US on January 19 that requires the Chinese owner of ByteDance to either sell it for national security reasons or face a ban.
US President Donald Trump, who took office the day after the law came into force, signed a decree postponing the law's implementation for 75 days.
Trump said that he has been in talks with several people about buying TikTok and is likely to make a decision this month on the app's future. It has about 170 million US users.
On Monday, the president signed a decree ordering the creation of a sovereign wealth fund within the next year, saying it could potentially buy TikTok.
U.S. officials warned that ByteDance was at risk of misusing American data.
Free speech advocates opposed the ban on TikTok under a law passed by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden.
The company says that US officials have misrepresented its ties to China, arguing that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the United States on cloud servers operated by Oracle, and that content moderation decisions affecting US users are also made in the United States.
Trump instructs Vance to oversee potential sale of TikTok07.02.25, 22:45