President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to restore access to TikTok has raised numerous legal questions, adding tensions between the White House, Congress, and tech companies caught in the middle. Despite the order, legal experts warn that companies like Google and Apple still face significant uncertainty and potential financial risks.
TikTok remains unavailable for download on both Apple and Android devices in the U.S. as of Tuesday afternoon, even after Trump signed the executive order on Monday. This order seeks to pause the U.S. ban on TikTok, which had been set to take effect unless the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divested from TikTok by January 19.
The executive order instructs the U.S. Justice Department to delay the enforcement of the divestment law for 75 days. Trump also directed the U.S. attorney general to notify service providers, such as app store hosts, that they would not be held liable for violations during this review period.
However, legal experts, including University of Minnesota Law School professor Alan Rozenshtein, caution that the 75-day delay offers minimal security. Rozenshtein explained in a Lawfare post that courts typically do not view such delays as binding, and Trump could alter his position at any time or selectively target companies that fall out of political favor.
Google declined to comment, and Apple has not yet responded to inquiries.
The divestment law, which Congress passed last year amid national security concerns about Chinese influence, was signed into law by President Joe Biden and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 17. The law imposes a $5,000 fine per user on service providers who violate the TikTok ban, leading to potential financial liabilities amounting to billions of dollars.
Although executive orders cannot override laws passed by Congress, legal experts say that even a lawsuit from lawmakers is unlikely to succeed. Courts might view the issue as a political question for the legislature or a national security matter under the White House’s control.
The law does not grant individuals the right to enforce it. However, shareholders could potentially sue service providers who rely on Trump’s executive order to ignore the ban.
Timothy Edgar, a cybersecurity and digital privacy expert at Brown University, pointed out that shareholders would have a valid case against companies that follow the executive order, considering the severe penalties associated with the law.
Read more: