An executive order was signed by President Trump on Monday, halting a rule that would have banned TikTok and shielding its business partners from accountability.
The order states that businesses that collaborate with TikTok will not be held accountable and that the law will be suspended for 75 days.
According to the order’s text, this will allow Trump’s administration to work toward a solution that preserves a platform that 170 million Americans use while safeguarding national security.
After taking the executive action on Monday, Trump said from the Oval Office, “I basically have the right to sell or close it with TikTok.” We might have to obtain Chinese consent. I don’t know. I have no doubt that they will approve.
According to Trump, his government will work on a joint venture between the US and unidentified other organizations.
The president remarked, “I believe you have a lot of people who would be interested.”
Trump’s action is related to a TikTok regulation that went into force on Sunday, which makes it illegal for companies to support the app as long as it is run by the Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance. Businesses who do so risk heavy fines.
The law was passed in April by lawmakers from all parties, who are worried that TikTok would work with the Chinese government to utilize the app for illegal data collecting or surveillance.
The Supreme Court said earlier this month that the app’s well-founded national security concerns warrant a forced sale. If ByteDance kept ownership of TikTok, the crackdown would start on January 19.
In reaction, TikTok’s cloud infrastructure and web hosting providers, such as Akamai and Oracle, took down the video app on the eve of that day.
TikTok is no longer available in the app stores of Google and Apple. Additionally, TikTok made the bold decision to shut down its servers, which left millions of Americans without power for almost 14 hours.
However, after Donald Trump, the then-elect president, stated on Truth Social that he intended to take executive action to delay the start date of the ban law and give TikTok’s business partners legal cover once he took office, service was restored Sunday morning.
Businesses’ reactions to Trump’s social media post varied. TikTok credited Trump with the app’s comeback, turning its servers back on and notifying all users. Web support is now available again from Akamai and Oracle.
But Google and Apple are surviving. And that’s because it’s against the law to return a TikTok owned by ByteDance to app stores, and doing so might cost you billions of dollars in fines. According to legal experts, Trump’s unilateral move won’t have much of an impact.
Requests for response from Apple, Google, Oracle, and Akamai were not answered.
While constitutional expert Alan Rozenshtein of the University of Minnesota Law School contends that trying to prolong the law’s start date and shield firms from responsibility does not alter a congressional act, Trump’s executive action on Monday aims to clarify the legal situation for TikTok.
The statute remains in force despite those acts. Furthermore, according to Rozenshtein, it does not stop companies like Oracle from breaking the law, which it is already doing.
There is one exception to the law: if Trump certifies to Congress that substantial progress has been achieved toward TikTok’s separation from ByteDance ownership, the company may continue to function.
According to the statute, Trump must demonstrate to Congress that enforceable agreements pertaining to TikTok ownership changes are being negotiated.
Rozenshtein claims that one of Trump’s first acts as president would be to lie to Congress if he claims that those events happened when they didn’t in order to extend the ban’s legal start date.
According to some legal experts, a tech company will likely file a lawsuit to contest Trump’s executive move in order to obtain a declarative judgment or a decision that will make sense of the confusing legal situation.
According to them, Apple and Google are worried about possible shareholder lawsuits because of the potential damage to their market value that would result from breaking a federal law.
The White House has the authority to interpret and implement the TikTok prohibition statute, even if doing so technically violates the law’s criteria. This is a significant feature of the law.
According to Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who specializes in technology policy, the law gives the president’s office an exceptional amount of authority.
Rozenshtein, however, argues that any legal protection Trump may have pledged through unilateral action will not stand up in court.
He told reporters that the president does not have this authority and cannot just declare anything to be an executive order and will it into being.
The possibility that Trump will eventually turn against the video app and attempt to use the law to retaliate is another risk for Apple, Google, Oracle, and other businesses that promote TikTok.
Calo warned reporters that TikTok goes dark the moment Trump withdraws his backing, if he does. And for that reason, everyone is trying to win over Donald Trump.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.