The impending TikTok ban also represents a multibillion-dollar headache for app store operators Apple and Google, as well as other Big Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, which count Chinese parent company ByteDance as a business partner. It has become a seed.
The Biden administration has effectively left enforcement of the law, which is scheduled to go into effect Sunday, to President-elect Donald Trump, who officially took office the next day and vowed to save the app.
On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected TikTok's appeal and upheld the law, ruling that it did not violate the First Amendment.
Under the law, Google and Apple would have to stop allowing new downloads of TikTok and could face fines of $5,000 per user if they don't comply.
Sen. Tom Cotton, an outspoken Republican from Arkansas who supports a national ban, said companies will be wary of ignoring the law even if key lawmakers assure them they won't be subject to fines. suggested that it should.
“Fines for companies like Apple and Google could reach $850 billion. If I were to run those companies, I don't know if I would take the politicians at their word,” he wrote to X. Ta.
Apart from the immediate risks, experts say Google and Apple are considering the possibility that President Trump or a future president later decides to take action against them for failing to comply with the law. “We need to do that,” he told the Post.
Google declined to comment on its plans. Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said, “Congress finds that division is necessary to address widely held national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries.'' I did,” he pointed out.
Jeffrey Cain, policy director at the Tech Integrity Project and author of The Perfect Police, said the Supreme Court's decision, apart from its impact on Google and Apple, has a significant impact on issues with TikTok and ByteDance. He said it brings new complexity for Big Tech companies, which have certain “entanglements.” state. “
“Given the unanimous ruling that these Chinese companies are a national security threat, it's time for Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others to sever ties,” Kaine told the Post.
November, House of Commons Select Committee on China Accuses Amazon of entering 'dangerous and unwise' field E-commerce partnership with TikTok.
TikTok is also one of the largest customers of Microsoft's cloud and AI services, paying nearly $20 million a month to access OpenAI's models through Microsoft as of last July. Information reported. Microsoft previously came under fire for collaborating with ByteDance on an AI project called KubeRay.
Oracle provides cloud computing support to TikTok and previously partnered with the company on Project Texas. The project was an ill-fated effort to convince lawmakers that the app was safe from Chinese spies by storing all of American citizens' data on U.S. soil.
In other places, Reuters reported Last month, Apple announced it was in early discussions with Chinese companies, including ByteDance, to roll out AI capabilities in China.
Representatives from the House China Select Committee, TikTok, Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
If TikTok goes bankrupt, social media giants like Facebook, Instagram's parent company Meta, Snap, and Google's YouTube would benefit from an influx of customers.
The law passed by Congress last April requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake completely or face a Jan. 19 ban. The law would have allowed Biden to extend the deadline by 90 days if there were signs of progress toward a deal, but no such progress materialized.
Cotton mentioned these terms in his warning to TikTok enablers.
“The only basis for a 90-day extension is that (a) significant progress has been made, (b) a binding legal agreement has been reached, and (c) the sale must be completed within 90 days. ,” he wrote. “Nothing like that happened.”
President Trump is said to be considering an executive order that would speed up sales to U.S. buyers but delay the law's implementation for another 60 to 90 days.
It is currently unclear whether this type of executive order would withstand legal scrutiny.
TikTok reportedly plans to take the app offline at midnight on Sunday and redirect users to a website with details of the ban.
The move would go beyond Congressional law that only requires app store providers like Google and Apple to stop downloads.
The app will remain available for a limited period of time for users who have already downloaded it, but the service will gradually degrade due to lack of product support and updates.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to attend President Trump's inauguration on Monday, sitting alongside other tech giants including Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook. It's planned.
