On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department released an order stating that app stores would have until Sept. 20 to remove the TikTok app from their stores. Users with the app already downloaded by that point will still be able to use the service through Nov. 12, at which point it will be banned entirely.
The Trump administration’s decision to officially ban the app has to do with its parent company, ByteDance, which is based in Beijing and therefore subject to Chinese law. The administration fears that, should the Chinese government request it, ByteDance would have to hand over any data it has collected on its U.S. users.
ByteDance has recently entered negotiations with Oracle to take over the TikTok operations in the U.S., thus allowing it to continue to operate. However, as those discussions have only just begun, there’s no word yet on whether this might happen in time to avoid the Commerce Department’s September or November deadlines.
