Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party wrote to CEOs of TikTok, Apple, and Google following the DC Circuit Court’s 3-0 opinion that upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
In the letter to TikTok CEO Shou Chew, the lawmakers write:
“The Court held that ‘[t]he First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.[,]’ and rejected all of TikTok’s constitutional claims… Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok’s American users from the Chinese Communist Party. We urge TikTok to immediately execute a qualified divestiture.”
In the letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the lawmakers write:
“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 US national security.”
They continued: “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 US law, [Apple and Google] must take the necessary steps to ensure it can fully comply with this requirement by January 19, 2025.”