Two influential US lawmakers, among them Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi, have asked Google and Apple to remove TikTok from their app stores before a possible ban on the video-sharing platform next month.
A bill signed by President Joe Biden into law in April requires China-based ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to divest from it by January 19 or face a US ban.
On the last day before the deadline for January 19, the House Select Committee on the CCP Chair John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi sent a letter to the chiefs of Apple, Tim Cook, Google, Sundar Pichai, and TikTok, Shou Chew.
They directed Cook and Pichai to be ready by January 19 to withdraw TikTok from their app stores. To the CEO of TikTok, in their letter, they "called for Chew to immediately effectuate a qualified divestiture."
These letters came following the opinion 3-0 given by the DC Circuit Court on upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
The lawmakers said, writing to Cook and Pichai in the letters that, "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."
"As you are aware, in absence of a qualified divestiture, the Act makes it illegal to continue offering services to distribute, maintain or update such foreign adversary controlled application (which may include any source code of such application) via means of a marketplace which could include an online mobile application store through which users who reside within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update the said 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," they wrote.
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