TikTok now allows US Android users to download app from its website

Photo : Reuters

TikTok has started letting Android users in the US download the app from its website. This move helps TikTok get around rules that have made it hard for people to access the app.

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Since January 19, TikTok has not been available in the Apple and Google app stores. A new US law says that TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, must sell the app or face a ban due to security worries.

Donald Trump became president the day after this law started. He signed an order to delay the ban for 75 days. He also said he is talking to different people about buying TikTok and will likely decide this month. The app has about 170 million users in the US.

On Monday, Trump signed another order to create a special government fund within a year. He said this fund might be used to buy TikTok.

Some US officials think ByteDance might use American users' data in the wrong way. But many people who support free speech are against banning TikTok. The law that caused the ban was strongly supported by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden.

TikTok says the US government is wrong about its ties to China. The company says it stores data on US users in America, using cloud servers run by Oracle. It also says that content decisions for US users are made in the US.