Apple, Google was ordered by the House committee to prepare to take down TikTok

The members of the House Committee ask the senior officials the apple and google Getting ready to comply with the law could see TikTok face an effective ban in the US next month

The letters They were sent on Friday the apple CEO Tim Cook and the alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Chinese Communist Party Select Committee Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) reminding them of their responsibilities as app store operators.

Legislators referred to it last week’s decision The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., has set a deadline of Jan. 19 for China’s ByteDance to take down TikTok. If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by that date, Apple and Google will have to guarantee their platforms by law. The TikTok app is no longer allowed in the US, the lawmakers wrote.

“As you know, without a qualified divestiture, the Act makes it illegal for ‘(p)rovid(e) services to distribute, maintain or update such foreign-controlled applications (including the source codes of such applications). market (including the online mobile application store) through which Users within US land or sea borders may access, maintain, or update that application,” the lawmakers wrote in the letters.

They also sent a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, discussing the court’s decision. That’s what they said from President Joe Biden overcome original TikTok law in April, “Congress has given TikTok ample time to take the necessary steps to comply.”

“In fact, TikTok has 233 days and counting to find a solution that protects US national security,” the lawmakers wrote.

While TikTok called the law unconstitutional and said it violated the First Amendment rights of its 170 million users, a three-judge appeals court rejected that argument, saying in an opinion that the law is “narrowly tailored to protect national security.”

TikTok has since archived an urgent motion to stay the ban from taking effect until the US Supreme Court hears his appeal. the company he warned A month of the US ban would see small businesses and social media creators lose $1.3 billion in sales and profits.

President-elect Donald Trump He has not publicly stated whether he wants to enforce The ban on TikTok is effective when it officially takes effect on January 20.

Trump tried to push for a ban during his first administration, but his rhetoric about TikTok began to change after he was elected president. they met in February With billionaire Jeff Yass, the Republican megadonor and major investor in the Chinese-owned social media app.

Yass’ trading firm Susquehanna International Group owns a 15% stake in ByteDance, and Yass maintains a 7% stake in the company, worth about $21 billion, according to NBC and CNBC. notify in march It was also that month notify Yass joined Trump’s parent company while owning the business Social Truth.

Apple, Google and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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