US attorney general Pam Bondi has told at least 10 tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, that they have “incurred no liability” for supporting TikTok despite the federal ban on providing services to the popular video-sharing app, according to letters disclosed on Thursday.
Under orders from President Donald Trump, Bondi has refused to enforce a law passed by Congress last year that classifies TikTok as a national security risk because of its ties to China and bars companies from distributing the app to US consumers.
Early this year, TikTok disappeared from the US app stores of Apple and Google after the ban went into effect. But despite the law still being on the books, TikTok returned to the stores after just a 26-day hiatus. Several media outlets reported at the time that Bondi had written to Apple and Google promising they would not face prosecution. But the letters had not been publicly disclosed until Thursday.
The disclosures show the first letters were dated January 30 and sent to four companies—Microsoft, Google, Apple, and content delivery network provider Fastly. “Google has committed no violation of the Act and Google has incurred no liability under the Act during the Covered Period,” then acting attorney general James McHenry wrote. “Google may continue to provide services to TikTok as contemplated by the Executive Order without violating the Act, and without incurring any legal liability.”
Bondi took over as attorney general in early February, and days later Google and Apple separately wrote to her, according to the released documents. In responses dated February 11, Bondi wrote that “the Department of Justice is also irrevocably relinquishing any claims the United States might have had against” the companies for violating the TikTok ban.
After Microsoft inquired, it also received on March 10 a letter “irrevocably relinquishing any claims.” Similar language was included in letters dated March 10 to Amazon, data center company Digital Realty, and cell phone service giant T-Mobile.
In early April, Trump extended the negotiating window for a TikTok sale and further delayed enforcement of the ban. That led to a round of 10 letters on April 5, including to content delivery provider Akamai, cloud vendor Oracle, and TV maker LG. Among those letters, only the ones to Apple and Google mentioned the “irrevocably relinquishing” vow. But three days later, Bondi sent a new version to Microsoft including the language.
Posted by John3262005
3 Comments
Wired has really been on top of their reporting game this year. Props to them.
I was never a fan of the ban. Banning one company for doing what every tech company does is anti-competitive. i would’ve preferred use privacy protection for all companies, conditions on selling or disclosing any information to third parties should be a law. However congress passed and the courts deemed it constitutional so it is law. Imagine if the next admin just refused to enforce any immigration laws, there would be outrage by the GOP.
The problem is the TikTok Ban Bill puts huge financial penalties on a companies if they keep hosting TikTok that it leaves up to White House to enforce.
Trump and his DOJ basically now have a gun to Apple, Microsoft, and Google’s head if they step out of line or do something Trump doesn’t like they can pull the trigger.