A supporter holds a sign that reads “TikTok” during a TikTok press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 22, 2023.
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House committee members urge top managers apple and Google Preparing to comply with a law that could see TikTok face an effective ban in the U.S. next month
letter Sent to apple CEO Tim Cook and letter Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Sundar Pichai, D-Ill., CEO of the House Select Committee on Chinese Communist Party Sundar Pichai reminded them of their responsibilities as app store operators.
Lawmakers were referring to a decision last week by a U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., that upheld a law requiring China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19. , Apple and Google will be legally required by lawmakers to ensure their platforms no longer support the U.S.-based TikTok app.
“As you are aware, absent a qualified divestiture, the Act provides for “providing” services to distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary-controlled applications (including any source code for such applications) by illegal.
They also wrote to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to review the court’s decision. They said that since President Joe Biden passed the original TikTok law in April, “Congress has provided TikTok with ample time to take the necessary steps to comply.”
“In fact, TikTok has had 233 days to seek a solution that protects U.S. national security,” the lawmakers wrote.
Although TikTok called the law unconstitutional and said it violated the First Amendment rights of its 170 million users, a three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected that argument, saying in its opinion that the law “is intended only to protect national security.” and formulated.”
Since then, TikTok submit An emergency motion seeks an injunction that would prevent the ban from taking effect until the U.S. Supreme Court hears its appeal. The company warned that a one-month ban in the United States would cost U.S. small businesses and social media creators $1.3 billion in lost sales and revenue.
President-elect Donald Trump has not said publicly whether he plans to implement an effective TikTok ban when he officially takes office on January 20.
Trump tried to push for a ban during his first administration, but his rhetoric on TikTok began to shift after the president-elect was elected Met in February Teaming up with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and major investor in Chinese social media apps.
Yas’s trading company Susquehanna International Group owns 15% of ByteDance, while Yas owns 7% of the company, equivalent to about $21 billion, NBC and CNBC report March. That month too report Yas is part owner of a business that merged with Trump’s parent company truth society.
Google declined CNBC’s request for comment.
Apple and TikTok did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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