Latest news with #USLaw
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.
CNA
06-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Humanitarian aid restrictions may violate US law, US Democrats say
WASHINGTON: A group of US senators wants Congress' watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate US law, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The six senators - Chris Van Hollen, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch - wrote to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office of the US government's implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. All of the senators are Democrats except Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats. "In Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, vital humanitarian assistance such as food, medical equipment, water purification systems, and other lifesaving goods have been blocked or restricted, directly and indirectly, by state and non-state actors," they said in a letter, dated Monday and seen by Reuters, referring to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws. The Leahy Laws prohibit the supply of US assistance to any foreign security force unit implicated in gross violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killing. Section 620I bars assistance for countries that impede delivery of humanitarian aid. Much recent concern has focused on Gaza. The United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on Mar 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has defended its blockade against aid entering Gaza, alleging that Hamas steals supplies intended for the civilian population and distributes them to its own forces, an allegation that Hamas denies. Activists have long argued that the United States disregards its own laws in sending military and other assistance abroad. Concern about civilians in Gaza has risen since Republican President Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, began his second term on Jan 20. Aid workers also have accused Sudanese paramilitaries of constraining aid deliveries in territories where it is seeking to cement its control. Rights groups sounded alarms on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved plans for an expanded offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas that might include seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid. The war in Gaza followed Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
Al Arabiya
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Controls on humanitarian aid deliveries may violate US law: Democrats
A group of US senators wants Congress' watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate US law, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The six senators - Chris Van Hollen, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch - wrote to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office of the US government's implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. All of the senators are Democrats except Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats. 'In Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, vital humanitarian assistance such as food, medical equipment, water purification systems, and other lifesaving goods have been blocked or restricted, directly and indirectly, by state and non-state actors,' they said in a letter, dated Monday and seen by Reuters, referring to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws. The Leahy Laws prohibit the supply of US assistance to any foreign security force unit implicated in gross violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killing. Section 620I bars assistance for countries that impede delivery of humanitarian aid. Much recent concern has focused on Gaza. The United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on March 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has defended its blockade against aid entering Gaza, alleging that Hamas steals supplies intended for the civilian population and distributes them to its own forces, an allegation that Hamas denies. Activists have long argued that the United States disregards its own laws in sending military and other assistance abroad. Concern about civilians in Gaza has risen since Republican President Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, began his second term on January 20. Aid workers also have accused Sudanese paramilitaries of constraining aid deliveries in territories where it is seeking to cement its control. Rights groups sounded alarms on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved plans for an expanded offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas that might include seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid. The war in Gaza followed Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
