The main concern is that TikTok and ByteDance could pose a national security risk to the United States. There are worries that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government. To address this, lawmakers sent letters to Apple and Google, reminding them that they are legally required to remove TikTok from their app stores if the situation isn’t resolved. They also sent a letter to TikTok’s CEO, urging the company to comply with the law and find a solution that works for everyone.
Today, we sent a letter to TikTok highlighting that Congress has provided ample time—233 days and counting—for the company to take the necessary steps to comply with the law and pursue a divestment that protects U.S. national security…As you know, without a qualified divestiture, the Act makes it unlawful to ‘[p]rovid[e] services to distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary controlled application (including any source code of such application) by means of a marketplace (including an online mobile application store) through which users within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update such application.’ Under U.S. law, [Apple and Google] must take the necessary steps to ensure it can fully comply with this requirement by January 19, 2025.
CCP Select Committee press release
It’s a pretty tense situation, and the clock is ticking. ByteDance only has a little over a month to figure things out and avoid a ban. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks, as it could really change the social media landscape in the US.
