TikTok Traffic Begins To Recover Even Though It's Not Available On The App Store

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA TikTok traffic in the US is starting to recover. Some time ago, precisely after the platform was closed due to divestment regulations, TikTok experienced a drastic decline in traffic.

According to a Cloudflare report on January 21, TikTok traffic fell by 85 percent. In fact, the app was only closed a day, but the impact the company felt was quite large. Now, TikTok traffic is still low, but not as bad as before.

When compared to the situation after the sudden closure, this traffic appears to be recovering. Cloudflare Data Insight Head David Belson told CNBC TikTok's traffic was about 10 percent lower than its pre-closure level.

This is a very natural situation because the US people had difficulty accessing the app. Although TikTok has said that their platform operations are only closed for a day, many think that the app is permanently closed.

The divestment rules set by the US government force TikTok to separate from ByteDance. Its parent company must sell TikTok assets in the US to other companies or investors in the country.

Since his law was signed by Joe Biden while still serving as president of the US, TikTok and ByteDance opposed the rule. They try to fight the US government through legal channels, but the Supreme Court's decision benefits the government.

In accordance with applicable laws, the TikTok operation had to close on January 19, the day before Donald Trump took office. Fortunately, after Trump was sworn in, an executive order was immediately issued to restrain divestment rules.

Even though it can be reused, TikTok and applications under its auspices such as CapCut and Lemon8 are still not available on the App Store and Google Play Store. This happened because the Attorney General had not issued a letter stating that service providers would not be responsible for TikTok distribution.