Apple and Google Face Billions in Liability From Trump's Tiktok Ban Delay
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Three senators have warned President Donald Trump that his handling of the TikTok ban puts Apple and other tech companies at risk of liability, potentially costing firms hundreds of billions of dollars.
The ban on TikTok has largely been ignored by the current U.S. Administration, after President Trump ordered for the ban to be extended until April 5. With that delayed deadline looming, lawmakers are concerned about what could happen next and how it could impact other companies.
In a letter to the President on Monday, Senators Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) insist that there could be considerable costs associated with the way that the delay was instigated.
Rather than triggering a 90-day extension of the deadline as detailed in the original law to ban TikTok if it's not divested, Trump instead issued an executive order. One instructing the Department of Justice not to enforce the law for 75 days.
That extension allowed Apple to return the app to the App Store, and Google to do the same with the Google Play Store.
While the order stops TikTok and connected companies from being prosecuted for the period, it's not the same as legalizing the app. Making TikTok available is still against the law, it's just the Justice Department won't act on it.
Deeming this workaround "unlawful," the letter adds that it "raised serious questions about TikTok's future, as the law imposes liability on companies for facilitating TikTok's continued operations in the United States."
This liability is valued at up to $850 billion in the letter. This could be levied against Apple and Google as distributors of the app in the App Store and Google Play Store, and Oracle for providing cloud services.
[...] "There is a better solution: Work with Congress," the letter writers urge.
Introduced legislation, such as the "Extend the TikTok Deadline Act," would push the deadline back to October 16, 2025, but Republicans in the Senate blocked the bill. Trump is told that, to get more time to complete the deal, he should instruct Senate Republicans to pass the legislation.
[...] There's also the matter of whether Trump will listen to the Democratic senators in the first place. It could well end up with a last-minute executive order attempting to extend the deadline once again.
In any case, there's a very real possibility that Apple, Google, Oracle, and anyone else deemed liable for keeping TikTok available could face a hefty fine in a few years, if the following administration is unfavorable.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.