A supporter holds up a sign that reads “TikTok” during a press conference on TikTok in front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 22, 2023.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
The members of the House Committee urge the senior officers of the Apple and Google is set to comply with a law that could effectively ban TikTok in the US next month
Letters sent to Friday Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai from Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, reminding them of their responsibilities as app store operators.
Lawmakers were referring to it decision last week by the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, to uphold a law requiring China's ByteDance to remove TikTok by January 19. they no longer support the TikTok app in the US, the lawmakers wrote.
“As you know, without a qualified move, the Act makes it illegal to '(p) provide (e) services to distribute, maintain or update the application controlled by a foreign enemy ( including any source code of that application) through its marketplace method (including an online mobile application store) through which users within domain boundaries or sea of the United States to enter, to maintain or renewal of such application,” the lawmakers wrote in the letters.
A D.C. appeals court later on Friday rejected TikTok's request to temporarily halt the law from taking effect in January.
The lawmakers also sent a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, reviewing the court's decision. They said that from the President Joe Biden over the original TikTok law in April, “Congress has given TikTok enough time to take the necessary steps to comply.” “
“In fact, TikTok has had 233 days and counting to find a solution that protects US national security,” the lawmakers wrote.
Although TikTok called the law unconstitutional and said it violates the First Amendment rights of its 170 million users, a three-judge panel on the appeals court rejected that argument and said they opined that the law is “designed to a limited extent to protect national security.”
TikTok warning that one month of the US ban would mean that US small businesses and social media creators would lose $1.3 billion in sales and employment.
President-elect Donald Trump he has not publicly stated whether he intends to implement the effective ban on TikTok when it officially takes office on January 20.
Trump tried to ban it during his first administration, but his rhetoric on TikTok began to change after the presidential election. met in February by billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and major investor in the Chinese-owned social media app.
Yass' trading company Susquehanna International Group owns 15% in ByteDance, while Yass maintains 7% in the company, equivalent to about $21 billion, NBC and CNBC reported in March. There was that month too reported that Yass was a part owner of the business that merged with Trump's parent company Social reality.
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 an established history of protecting Americans' right to free speech.” “
