Latest news with #TikTokBan
The Verge
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Here are the letters that convinced Google and Apple to keep TikTok online
A Freedom of Information Act request has produced letters that the US Department of Justice sent to Google, Apple, Amazon, and several other companies in order to assuage their concerns about breaking a law that banned US web services from working with TikTok. The documents — obtained by Zhaocheng Anthony Tan, a Google shareholder who sued for their release earlier this year — show Attorney General Pam Bondi and her predecessor Acting Attorney General James McHenry III promising to release companies from responsibility for violating the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which required US companies to ban TikTok from app stores and other platforms or face hundreds of billions of dollars in fines. The law was intended to force a sale of TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, due to national security concerns. Additionally, the letters say the Justice Department will step in to prevent anyone else from attempting to enforce penalties, a promise that includes filing amicus briefs or 'intervening in litigation.' McHenry apparently sent the first round of letters on January 30th, ten days after Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law, which took effect the day before his inauguration. A series of follow-up letters were sent by Bondi, including a round dated April 5th, just after Trump extended the delay on enforcing the law to mid-June. The letters' existence was known, but until now, their text had not been released. The full list of recipients includes the operators of app stores, cloud hosting services, and more: Trump has since issued a third extension, which expires in mid-September, while promising a sale of TikTok by ByteDance to a non-Chinese owner remains underway. It is unclear whether any of the orders have a valid basis in law.
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Administration Asserted Sweeping Power in Seeking to Bypass TikTok Ban
Attorney General Pam Bondi told tech companies that they could lawfully violate a statute barring American companies from supporting TikTok based on a sweeping claim that President Trump has the constitutional power to set aside laws, newly disclosed documents show. In a series of letters to companies like Apple and Google, Ms. Bondi wrote that Mr. Trump had decided that shutting down TikTok would interfere with his 'constitutional duties to take care of the national security and foreign affairs of the United States.' As a result, she continued, she had concluded that the law banning the social media app 'is properly read not to infringe upon such core presidential national security and foreign affairs powers.' The letters, which became public on Thursday via Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, portrayed Mr. Trump as having nullified the legal effects of a statute that Congress passed by large bipartisan majorities in 2024 and that the Supreme Court unanimously upheld. Shortly after being sworn in, Mr. Trump issued an executive order directing the Justice Department to suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban and has since repeatedly extended it. That step has been overshadowed by numerous other moves he has made to push at the boundaries of executive power in the opening months of his second administration. But some legal experts consider Mr. Trump's action — and in particular his order's claim, which Ms. Bondi endorsed in her letters, that he has the power to enable companies to lawfully violate the statute — to be his starkest power grab. It appears to set a significant new precedent about the potential reach of presidential authority, they said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Trade: President said to weigh possible U.S. strike against Iran
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter IRAN: U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing a range of potential actions in response to a recent armed conflict between Israel and Iran, including a possible U.S. strike against Iran, and met with top White House advisers to discuss the matter on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing administration officials. The news comes after Trump earlier posted on Truth Social that the U.S. is aware of the location of Iran supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei but had opted not to take any action, then saying 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,' the report notes. The White House has previously said it won't join Israel's attacks, the report says. TIKTOK BAN: U.S. President Donald Trump intends to sign an executive order sparing TikTok from a law banning or forcing a sale of the social media platform, again delaying a deadline for enforcement of said law, the Wall Street Journal's Alex Leary reports. 'As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 'This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.' Publicly traded companies in the space include Meta Platforms (META), Pinterest (PINS), Reddit (RDDT) and Snap (SNAP). STABLECOIN REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to set up the first regulatory framework for stablecoins, Axios' Stephen Neukam reports. The GENIUS Act, which has been criticized by many Democrats over corruption concerns surrounding President Trump's growing cryptocurrency empire, was passed with a 68-30 vote, with two GOP members voting no on the legislation, the author says. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Bitfarms (BITF), Coinbase (COIN), Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Strategy (MSTR), Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) and TeraWulf (WULF). PSYCHEDELIC FIELD: Companies, advocates and investors in the psychedelic field are hopeful the Trump administration will support the space after favorable sentiments by several key officials, STAT News' Olivia Goldhill and Meghana Keshavan report, citing sources. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, has voiced support for psychedelics as a potential mental health treatment and Calley Means, a White House adviser, wrote that psychedelics 'should be an important public policy priority for the United States'. Additionally, Casey Means, the president's surgeon general pick, described psilocybin therapy as 'one of the most meaningful experiences of life' and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has made positive remarks on the opportunity the substances could hold for veterans. Publicly traded companies in the space include Atai Life Sciences (ATAI), Clearmind (CMND), Compass Pathways (CMPS), Cybin (CYBN), GH research (GHRS) and Mind Medicine (MNMD). INVESTING IN THE U.S.: Texas Instruments (TXN) announced its plans to invest more than $60B across seven U.S. semiconductor fabs. Working with the Trump administration and building on the company's nearly 100-year legacy, Texas Instruments said it is expanding its U.S. manufacturing capacity to supply the growing need for semiconductors that will advance critical innovations from vehicles to smartphones to data centers. Combined, TI's new manufacturing mega-sites in Texas and Utah will support more than 60,000 U.S. jobs. 'TI is building dependable, low-cost 300mm capacity at scale to deliver the analog and embedded processing chips that are vital for nearly every type of electronic system,' said Haviv Ilan, president and CEO of Texas Instruments. 'Leading U.S. companies such as Apple (AAPL), Ford (F), Medtronic (MDT), NVIDIA (NVDA) and SpaceX rely on TI's world-class technology and manufacturing expertise, and we are honored to work alongside them and the U.S. government to unleash what's next in American innovation.' SM1, Texas Instruments' first new fab in Sherman will begin initial production this year, just three years after breaking ground. Construction is also complete on the exterior shell of SM2, the company's second new fab in Sherman. Incremental investment plans include two additional fabs, SM3 and SM4, to support future demand. Texas Instruments is ramping LFAB1, the company's first 300mm wafer fab in Lehi. Construction is also well underway on LFAB2, Texas Instruments' second Lehi fab that will connect to LFAB1. The company's second fab in Richardson, RFAB2, continues to ramp to full production. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See the top stocks recommended by analysts >> Read More on META: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Meta Fails to Steal OpenAI Experts with '$100M Bonuses,' Says Sam Altman Meta, Scale AI deal positive for Reddit, says B. 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Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China's Makeup Brands are Winning Over Western Consumers
The US' threat of a TikTok ban prompted millions of users to jump ship to Xiaohongshu, where they discovered Chinese cosmetics. The exposure has been a boon for the multibillion-dollar Chinese beauty industry and brands like Judydoll and Florasis. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is TikTok getting banned? Trump says he'll 'probably' extend deadline again
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will "probably" extend the TikTok ban deadline yet again before its expiration on Thursday, June 19. "We probably have to get China approval. I think we'll get it," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, June 17. "I think (Chinese) President Xi will ultimately approve it." TikTok, a short-form video app, went dark for about 12 hours in January when China-based ByteDance failed to divest the app's U.S. assets, as required by federal law. Since coming into office on Jan. 20, Trump has issued two executive orders to extend the ban's deadline. But so far, a deal has yet to be struck, and the next deadline is Thursday, June 19. When asked by reporters if he has the legal basis to extend the deadline again, Trump said, "Yes, I do." If ByteDance does not divest TikTok by Thursday, June 19, the platform could be banned in the U.S. again. However, Trump has repeatedly signaled he would extend the deadline if the sale isn't finalized in time. Under federal legislation that put the TikTok ban in place, the president can implement a 90-day extension on the deadline to sell. But Trump didn't take this route in January or April. Instead, he signed executive orders delaying the ban by 75 days. If Trump wishes to sign another executive order ahead of the June 19 deadline, he can. Former President Joe Biden signed federal legislation in 2024 that gave ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025 to divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. Some politicians see TikTok as a national security threat, expressing concern that ByteDance may be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. ByteDance has denied these claims, which remain unsubstantiated. However, ByteDance did not divest in time. In January, TikTok went dark for a little more than 12 hours in the U.S. after the app was effectively banned. U.S. internet hosting services made TikTok unavailable to access, and app stores removed the app for download. During the short-lived shutdown, Trump promised internet hosting services and app stores that they could restore TikTok and not face legal penalties. Under the federal legislation, companies could be fined $5,000 per user they help access TikTok. For companies like Google and Apple, this could mean a $5,000 fine for each user who downloads or updates TikTok. It wasn't until Feb. 13 that TikTok became available again in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This story will be updated. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TikTok ban: Trump says he'll 'probably' extend deadline again
