A supporter holds a sign reading “TikTok” during a TikTok press conference in front of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2023.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
House committee members urge top executives in apple and Google To prepare to comply with the law that could result in TikTok facing an effective ban in the United States next month
Messages It was sent on Friday to apple CEO Tim Cook and alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai From Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamurthy, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China, reminding them of their responsibilities as App Store operators.
Lawmakers pointed out Last week's decision By the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, to uphold a law requiring the Chinese company ByteDance to withdraw TikTok by January 19. If ByteDance fails to sell TikTok by that date, Apple and Google will be required by law to ensure that their platforms no longer support TikTok in the United States, the lawmakers wrote.
“As you know, without a qualified divestment, the Act makes it unlawful to distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary's controlled application (including any source code for such application) via the Marketplace (including a mobile application store via Internet) through which users within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update this application,” the lawmakers wrote in the letters.
The D.C. Court of Appeals later on Friday denied TikTok's request to temporarily halt entry into the law in January.
Lawmakers also sent a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reviewing the court's decision. They've been saying that since President Joe Biden Pass The original TikTok law in April “Congress allowed TikTok sufficient time to take the necessary steps to comply.”
“In fact, TikTok has had 233 days and counting to pursue a resolution that protects America’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 Court of Appeals rejected that argument and said in its opinion that the law was “narrowly designed to protect national security.”
Tik Tok to caution One month of the US ban will result in US small businesses and social media creators losing $1.3 billion in sales and profits.
President-elect Donald Trump He has not publicly announced whether he intends to do so duty Effective TikTok ban when he officially takes office on January 20.
Trump tried to enforce the ban in his first administration, but his rhetoric on TikTok began to shift after the president-elect Met in February With billionaire Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and major investor in the Chinese-owned social media app.
Yas's trading company, Susquehanna International Group, owns a 15% stake in ByteDance, while Yas owns a 7% stake in the company, equivalent to about $21 billion, according to NBC and “CNBC” I mentioned In March. And that was also the month I mentioned That Yass was a part owner of the company that merged with Trump's parent company Social truth.
Google declined CNBC's request for comment. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
A TikTok spokesperson confirmed the company's plan to take the case to the Supreme Court, “which has a solid historical record of protecting Americans' right to free expression.”
