Transcript:
Conway Gittens: TikTok is back! At least in the online app stores that is. The popular social media app can once again be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The restoration comes after Apple and Google received reassurances from the Trump Justice Department that they will not be fined for violating a Biden-era ban on TikTok, according to sources close to both companies. The law signed by Biden, which went into effect on January 19th, banned TikTok unless its parent company ByteDance sold the app to U.S. owners. Congress passed the law on concerns TikTok was a national security threat. As part of that original legislation, app stores were threatened with steep fines if they kept the app available.
Related: Users flock to a TikTok alternative that may be more dangerous
Once back in the White House, President Trump signed an executive order that put a 75-day enforcement halt in place, throwing the tech world into confusion. While some tech companies backed away from TikTok, others quickly resumed cooperation after a brief shutdown. This confusion has not cleared up. Trump recently hinted his ban delay might be extended.
Meanwhile, there’s been no deal involving a U.S. company to buy TikTok, and it’s still not clear ByteDance or the Chinese government would agree to one. In the meantime, TikTok’s 170 million American users can keep on making and sharing their videos unencumbered - at least for now.
Turning to Friday’s market moves, investors are taking a steep surprise drop in January retail sales in stride. Sales fell 0.9 percent at the start of the year in a broad-based spending pullback. The first drop in retail sales in six months, however, was likely influenced by wildfires in California and winter storms engulfing large sections of the country.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
