Three senators have warned President Donald Trump that his handling of the TikTok ban puts Apple and other tech companies at risk of liability, potentially costing firms hundreds of billions of dollars.
The ban on TikTok has largely been ignored by the current U.S. Administration, after President Trump ordered for the ban to be extended until April 5. With that delayed deadline looming, lawmakers are concerned about what could happen next and how it could impact other companies.
In a letter to the President on Monday, Senators Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) insist that there could be considerable costs associated with the way that the delay was instigated.
Rather than triggering a 90-day extension of the deadline as detailed in the original law to ban TikTok if it’s not divested, Trump instead issued an executive order. One instructing the Department of Justice not to enforce the law for 75 days.
That extension allowed Apple to return the app to the App Store, and Google to do the same with the Google Play Store.
While the order stops TikTok and connected companies from being prosecuted for the period, it’s not the same as legalizing the app. Making TikTok available is still against the law, it’s just the Justice Department won’t act on it.
A very expensive risk
Deeming this workaround “unlawful,” the letter adds that it “raised serious questions about TikTok’s future, as the law imposes liability on companies for facilitating TikTok’s continued operations in the United States.”
This liability is valued at up to $850 billion in the letter. This could be levied against Apple and Google as distributors of the app in the App Store and Google Play Store, and Oracle for providing cloud services.
It’s added that the statute of limitations is five years, meaning that the administration that follows after Trump stops being president has the potential to reverse any decision on the matter, and cost the companies dearly.
Trump’s extension, and any future attempts to kick the issue down the road ” will require Oracle, Apple, Google, and other companies to continue risking ruinous legal liability, a difficult decision to justify in perpetuity.”
Furthermore, it also warns against a Trump suggestion to complete a deal with Oracle to take a small stake in TikTok. The deal “would almost certainly not satisfy the Act’s requirements around a qualified divestiture,” the letter claims.
Request to cooperate
“There is a better solution: Work with Congress,” the letter writers urge.
Introduced legislation, such as the “Extend the TikTok Deadline Act,” would push the deadline back to October 16, 2025, but Republicans in the Senate blocked the bill. Trump is told that, to get more time to complete the deal, he should instruct Senate Republicans to pass the legislation.
The President is also asked to work with Congress on modifications to the “Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act” to make sure that the Oracle deal or similar solutions would prevent TikTok from going offline.
“Regardless of your approach, the path to saving TikTok should run through Capitol Hill,” the letter also says.
With less than two weeks to go until the April 5 deadline, there’s not much time for Trump to work with Congress or the Senate on the matter, let alone to make a deal on the business. Even with its piles of cash, Apple is not a realistic buyer for the social network at all.
There’s also the matter of whether Trump will listen to the Democratic senators in the first place. It could well end up with a last-minute executive order attempting to extend the deadline once again.
In any case, there’s a very real possibility that Apple, Google, Oracle, and anyone else deemed liable for keeping TikTok available could face a hefty fine in a few years, if the following administration is unfavorable.
