Apple and Amazon told to prepare to remove TikTok from app stores

US politicians tell TikTok chief to 'immediately execute a qualified divestiture'

US politicians on a House of Representatives committee told Apple and Google to prepare to remove TikTok from their platforms before an anticipated ban in the country. Reuters

Members of a US House of Representatives committee on Friday pressed Apple chief executive Tim Cook and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai to prepare to comply with the country's expected ban on TikTok next month.

In letters addressed to Mr Cook and Mr Pichai, the ranking members of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said the company's app stores must be ready to comply with the law by the time the US TikTok ban takes effect on January 19.

Committee chairman John Moolenaar and ranking member Raja Lrishnamoorthi reminded the tech companies that the ban makes it unlawful for companies to host any “foreign adversary controlled application” on an app marketplace.

The letters come a week after a federals appeal court upheld a law that would ban TikTok in the US. Under the law signed by President Joe Biden in April, Chinese-owned company has a January 19 deadline to divest TikTok's assets or face a ban in the US.

In its decision, the court said the law “was carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary” and part of an effort to counter a “well-substantiated” national security threat China poses to the US.

US officials warned before the law's passage earlier this year that Beijing could use TikTok to spy on Americans. TikTok has argued that a ban is a violation of the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of speech. More than 170 million Americans use the short-video app.

In a separate letter to TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew, the lawmakers said the social media company has been provided ample time to form a divestment plan that would protect US national security interests.

“Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok’s American users from the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter reads. “We urge TikTok to immediately execute a qualified divestiture.”

Following the court's decision last week, TikTok indicated it could appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” it said in a statement on December 6.

Mr Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if TikTok is attempting a sale. Doing so would put the company's future on the shoulders of president-elect Donald Trump, who will begin his second term as president on January 20. Mr Trump, once a sceptic of the platform, said during the 2024 election that he would not allow TikTok to be banned.