Tik Tok banned from apple, google app stores

The United States Commerce Department announced Friday that Tik Tok would be banned from apple, google app stores beginning Sunday, September 20.  Tik Tok’s parent company Bytedance is still searching for a domestic company to be able to continue its operations. It is rumored that both Oracle and Walmart have been in contact with Bytedance to operate the app.

Both TikTok and WeChat, an all-purpose messaging app, will be removed from the app stores. Current users are still able to have and use the app on their devices. They will, however, not be able to update the app which would impact its functionality as phone operating systems get more sophisticated. As of now, Tik Tok has over 100 million users in the United States and more than 700 million around the world.

The Trump administration has given a date of November 12 for the parties to reach an agreement on the app, or there will be a full ban implemented.

“In our proposal to the US Administration, we’ve already committed to unprecedented levels of additional transparency and accountability well beyond what other apps are willing to do, including third-party audits, verification of code security, and US government oversight of US data security. Further, an American technology provider would be responsible for maintaining and operating the TikTok network in the US, which would include all services and data serving US consumers,” a spokesperson from Tik Tok said.