[Google-parent Alphabet and Apple Must Remove TikTok from US App Stores on January 19, Lawmakers Say
Two US lawmakers, Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democrat Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, have written a letter to the CEOs of Alphabet and Apple, urging them to be prepared to remove TikTok from their US app stores on January 19. The letter comes after a US federal appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States or face a ban.
The lawmakers, who are leaders of the US House of Representatives’ committee on China, said that Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok’s American users from the Chinese Communist Party. They urged TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to sell the app, stating that a qualified divestiture is necessary.
The Department of Justice has said that if the ban takes effect on January 19, it would not directly prohibit the continued use of TikTok by Apple or Google users who have already downloaded the app. However, it conceded that the prohibitions on providing support would eventually render the application unworkable.
TikTok has warned that absent a court order, the app will disappear from mobile app stores on January 19 and be unavailable to the half of the country that does not already use the app. The company also noted that ending support services will “cripple the platform in the United States and make it totally unusable.”
ByteDance and TikTok have also noted that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to prevent a ban on TikTok. Republican Senator Josh Hawley has also expressed support for the sale of TikTok, stating that the law leaves no wiggle room and that the main issue is that the app is subject to Chinese oversight.
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