US Lawmakers Urge Google and Apple to Prepare for TikTok Removal from App Stores by January 19

Lawmakers Direct Action Against TikTok

US lawmakers have instructed Google and Apple to prepare for the removal of TikTok from their app stores by January 19, 2025, unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sells the platform by that deadline.

On December 6, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) dismissed TikTok’s legal challenge to the law mandating the sale of social media platforms. This legislation could lead to a ban on the app in the US if its Chinese owners do not sell it by January 19th.

Legal Actions and Commitments

Following this, TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency motion on December 9, seeking a temporary injunction to postpone the enforcement of the legislation, which was signed by President Joe Biden in April.

In a response, the US Department of Justice on Thursday (December 12) urged the court to reject the motion made by ByteDance and TikTok, contending that they “provide no compelling reason to delay the Supreme Court’s prerogative to decide how a proceeding before this Court should proceed.”

Recently, on Friday, the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sent letters to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, stressing that these companies must take necessary steps to comply with the law.

“As you know, without a qualified sale, the Act makes it illegal to provide distribution, maintenance, or update services to such an application controlled by a foreign adversary… through a marketplace.”

US House Select Committee

The House committee clarified, “Without a qualified sale, the law prohibits providing services for the distribution, support, or update of such an application managed by a foreign adversary (including any source code of such application) via a marketplace (including an online mobile application store) through which users within the land or maritime boundaries of the United States may access, maintain, or update such an application.”

In letters dispatched to the CEOs of Apple and Google, along with TikTok’s CEO Show Zee Chew, the committee cited that the D.C. ruling indicated that the First Amendment protects free speech, and government action was aimed at shielding that freedom from potential foreign threats.

TikTok has until April 24, 2024, giving it 233 days to find a resolution to national security concerns, facing the imminent threat of removal from US app stores if it does not comply.

“Congress has taken decisive action to safeguard the national security of the United States and to protect American TikTok users from the Chinese Communist Party. We urge TikTok to immediately undertake a qualified asset sale,” lawmakers stated in a letter addressed to Shaw Tzu Chu.

In separate correspondence to the CEOs of Apple and Google, the House committee asserted that they “must take the necessary steps to ensure full compliance with this requirement by January 19, 2025.”

Future Prospects for TikTok

TikTok announced its intention to appeal to the Supreme Court, stating “the Supreme Court should have the opportunity, as the only court with appellate jurisdiction over this claim, to decide whether to review this extraordinary case.”

If the Supreme Court does not intervene, or if ByteDance does not sell TikTok by January 19, the app stores will be required to remove TikTok and prevent updates. Although current users may initially continue to access the app, over time it may become unusable.

Interestingly, former President Donald Trump, who initially advocated for banning TikTok during his prior administration, might offer TikTok a lifeline. In November, reports indicated that Trump is expected to take measures to keep the video streaming platform operational in the US upon his return to office.

In the meantime, Information reported that Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, is still keen on acquiring TikTok. Sources familiar with his intentions revealed that Kotick is waiting for Trump to assume office before proceeding with any action. Kotick first expressed interest in acquiring TikTok earlier this year.