Lawmakers urge Apple and Google to eliminate TikTok from their respective app stores by January 19th.
Lawmakers urge Apple and Google to eliminate TikTok from their respective app stores by January 19th.
The bipartisan advisory emerged from the helms of two influential figures in the U.S. House of Representatives' China committee: Republican Representative John Moolenaar, the committee's chairman, and top-ranking Democrat Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Recently, a U.S. federal appeals court validated a law compelling ByteDance to divest TikTok within the U.S., or else face a prohibition. The app boasts 170 million American users.
Individually, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi urged TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to offload the app: "Congress has taken decisive action to safeguard the U.S. national security and shield TikTok's American users from the Chinese Communist Party's influence," the legislators penned. "We urge TikTok to swiftly execute an eligible disposal."
Neither Apple, Alphabet, nor TikTok reacted promptly. On Monday, ByteDance and TikTok staged an urgent plea to put a halt on the law until the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a review.
What's next
The Department of Justice declared on Wednesday that if the ban enforced on Jan. 19, it wouldn't instantly impede TikTok's use by Apple or Google users who have previously downloaded the app. However, it conceded that limitations on support would ultimately render the application impracticable.
Reacting to this, TikTok stated on Thursday that, without a court order, the law would lead to TikTok's disappearance from mobile app stores on Jan. 19, making it inaccessible to half the nation's population that does not already utilize the app. It warned that terminating service would "seriously impair the platform in the U.S." and make it completely unworkable.
ByteDance and TikTok emphasized President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to frustrate a TikTok ban.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley expressed hope that ByteDance would dispose of TikTok as the law leaves no loopholes, he stated in an interview.
"The statute is what the statute is," Hawley said. "The primary issue is it's subject to Chinese oversight, Beijing oversight - that's the concern."
The business sector is closely watching the ongoing tussle between TikTok and the U.S. government, as tech companies often face scrutiny over data privacy and national security concerns. Hawley, a tech-savvy senator, believes the law leaves no room for negotiation, highlighting the potential impact on TikTok's tech operations within the U.S.