House China Select Committee chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) have sent letters to the CEOs of Apple, Google and TikTok reminding them that keeping the TikTok app online past January 19 is a violation of the law, reports Forbes.
In letters to Apple and Google, the committee wrote: “Congress has provided ample time—233 days and counting” for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance to find a buyer for the app.
“As you know, without a qualified divestiture, the Act makes it unlawful” to keep TikTok in the app stores,” the letter says. “Under U.S. law, [Apple and Google] must take the necessary steps to ensure [they] can fully comply with this requirement by January 19, 2025.”
Forbes notes that Apple and Google, along with hosting companies like Oracle and Amazon Web Services, could face massive fines if they continue working with TikTok past the congressional deadline. Unless TikTok can convince the courts to stop the law from going into effect, Apple and Google will be forced to remove it from the app stores on January 19.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today