Apple, T-Mobile and Google face billions in civil penalties over TikTok
Right up against a deadline because of a bill signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in April 2024. That bill gave TikTok owner ByteDance 270 days to sell the app or TikTok would get banned in the U.S. President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline to April 5th. And when that deadline and the one after it failed to result in the sale of the app, Trump extended his executive orders with the last one keeping hands off on TikTok until September 17th, 2025.
The day after the first extension of Trump's executive order, April 5th, the administration sent letters to tech companies, including Apple, telling them that even if the law said otherwise, they would not face any consequences from keeping TikTok online. The original law signed by President Biden said that any company helping TikTok continue operating in the U.S. in violation of the law, faces up to $850 billion in liability . And since the executive order did not make TikTok legal in the U.S., Mr. Tan, the Google stockholder, has some concerns.
-Letter to President Trump written by Senator Edward Markey, Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Chris Van Hollen
As a result of Google's relisting of TikTok in the Play Store, Mr. Tan sued Alphabet, Google's parent company, to find out why it returned TikTok to the Play Store considering it could leave the company facing a liability as high as $850 billion. He says that Alphabet's decision could affect all of its shareholders. Tan also used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain letters sent to to Google, Akamai, Amazon, Digital Realty Trust, Fastly, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Oracle, and LG. The April 5th letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi to Apple's Senior Vice President & General Counsel Katherine Adams follows: Office of the Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530 April 5, 2025 Katherine Adams Senior Vice President & General Counsel Apple Inc. Ann O'Leary Ian Gershengorn Re: Enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act Dear Ms. Adams: Article II of the United States Constitution vests in the President the responsibility over national security and the conduct of foreign policy. The President previously determined that an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform would interfere with the execution of the President's constitutional duties to take care of the national security and foreign affairs of the United States. See Executive Order 14166 (E.O. 14166). The Attorney General has concluded that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the 'Act') is properly read not to infringe upon such core Presidential national security and foreign affairs powers. Executive Order 14166 instructed the Department of Justice not to take any action on behalf of the United States to enforce the Act for any conduct that occurred during the period of time from January 19, 2025 through April 5, 2025 (the 'Covered Period'). Pursuant to the President's responsibility to protect national security and to conduct foreign policy, the President determined that a 75-day extension of the Covered Period to June 19, 2025 is appropriate and has signed a subsequent Executive Order to effectuate that determination (the 'Extended Covered Period'). See Executive Order, Extending The TikTok Enforcement Delay (April 4, 2025). In the Executive Order signed on April 4, the President directed 'the Attorney General to issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during' the Extended Covered Period as well as for any conduct from the effective date of the Act. Based on the Attorney General's review of the facts and circumstances, Apple Inc. has committed no violation of the Act and Apple Inc. has incurred no liability under the Act during the Covered Period or the Extended Covered Period. Apple Inc. may continue to provide services to TikTok as contemplated by these Executive Orders without violating the Act, and without incurring any legal liability. The Department of Justice is also irrevocably relinquishing any claims the United States might have had against Apple Inc. for the conduct proscribed in the Act during the Covered Period and Extended Covered Period, with respect to TikTok and the larger family of ByteDance Ltd. and TikTok, Inc. applications covered under the Act. This is derived from the Attorney General's plenary authority over all litigation, civil and criminal, to which the United States, its agencies, or departments, are parties, as well as the Attorney General's authority to enter settlements limiting the future exercise of executive branch discretion. Finally, because the Act vests authority for investigations and enforcement of the Act only in the Attorney General, the Department of Justice intends to take all necessary actions to implement the President's Executive Orders and guard the Attorney General's exclusive authority to enforce the Act, to include filing amicus briefs, statements of interest, or intervening in litigation. Regards, Pamela Bondi Attorney General
United States Department of Justice Secure your connection now at a bargain price!
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GSM Arena
an hour ago
- GSM Arena
Weekly poll: Nothing Phone (3), the good, the bad or the ugly?
Peter, 06 July 2025 After releasing the Nothing Phone (2) in 2023, Nothing took a year off from premium phones – but it promised a proper flagship for 2025. And, uh, here it is. The Nothing Phone (3) quickly became the talk of the town and not in a good way. Where should we start? The design is one of the more controversial aspects of the phone and it's hard to ignore. Nothing has built a reputation for out-of-the-box designs and the brand's style is instantly recognizable. However, this latest model – remember, it was two years in the making! – caused an avalanche of negative reactions. And that may not be the worst of it – let's look at the prices next. Nothing Phone (3) 12/256GB 16/512GB US $800 $900 UK £800 £900 EU €800 €900 India ₹80,000 ₹90,000 For context, a 12/256GB OnePlus 13 is $900/£900/€1,000/₹70,000 without any discounts. No, you're not reading it wrong, the OnePlus flagship has a lower MSRP in India than the Nothing phone. The Nothing Phone (3) has a non-LTPO 6.67' 120Hz OLED display and a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead of Elite. The triple 50MP camera has a large 1/1.3' main sensor, but the 3x periscope has a smaller sensor than the Phone (3a) Pro (1/2.75' vs. 1/1.95'). The battery is 5,150mAh in most of the world and 5,500mAh in India – in either case you are looking at 65W wired and 15W wireless charging. The dust and water resistance is the best of any Nothing phone so far but it's still only IP68. Those are not exactly flagship specs, are they? So far, Nothing phones have been better value for money than much of the competition, but the same can't be said of the Phone (3). How much does that dot matrix display on the back cost, anyway? The phone will receive 5 OS updates and 7 years of security patches. Nothing OS 4.0/Android 16 is coming 'later this autumn'. Check out our hands-on to learn more about the Nothing Phone (3). What do you think – will you buy the Nothing Phone (3) or are you looking at other models?
Phone Arena
2 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Verizon rep literally begs for top feedback score from customer in bonkers chat session
The metrics system used by most carriers is designed to incentivize reps by threatening them with the possibility of losing their jobs unless they push a certain number of accessories to customers each month or meet their quota by selling a specific number of wearable devices. Some reps must get a certain percentage of their customers to sign up for device insurance, or purchase power adapters. Those who don't meet their numbers are at risk of getting fired. With all of this pressure put on them, it is no wonder that many sales reps have been accused of adding extra lines, insurance, or tablets to a customer's invoice without their consent. The executives running the show at firms like Verizon, T-Mobile , and AT&T have created a monster. A Verizon customer couldn't believe what he was seeing after he finished the chat he was having with the rep who was helping him deal with problems he was having with international data and roaming. As the customer said in his social media post on Reddit, after thanking the rep "named Angel" for his time and ending the chat, he was stunned by what Angel wrote. The Verizon rep was literally begging for the customer to give him the highest possible feedback score of 5. The rep wrote, "Please give me a five, not a four or below. I'm begging you. I don't want to be in hell." The rep also wrote to the customer, "Please have mercy. I'm begging you!" To show how seriously he needed that "five" rating from the Verizon customer he helped, Angel also wrote, "I am very sorry. I hope it was a five out of five service! I don't want to be in hell! Please help me. Please have mercy!" A Verizon rep begs a customer to give him a 5-pont score on his feedback survey. | image credit-Reddit A former Verizon rep says that Angel actually has a reason to panic since the carrier's executives consider that "anything below a 5 is a fail" because Verizon is supposed to be providing 5-star service. This former Verizon rep also confirmed that the feedback survey score you give the rep will affect his pay. If Angel were to fall below a certain level with the surveys related to his quality surveys, he could lose his payout for that Key Performance Indicator. I know some customers become glib when responding to surveys because they really don't believe that they have the power to affect a rep's pay. But apparently, they do. While it is not becoming to see a rep write messages like this, begging to be given a good performance score, this is the result of the ridiculous metric system that wireless executives use to squeeze more sales out of customers to keep their top line rising every quarter. Executives of the big three in the U.S., Verizon , T-Mobile, and AT&T , try to push their revenue higher every three months. That's because they believe that by reporting higher revenue each quarter, their stock prices will move higher helping to fatten their wallets. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
GSM Arena
5 hours ago
- GSM Arena
Deals: the Apple iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 series are on sale
Peter, 06 July 2025 You don't see iPhone discounts often, but this week the entire 16 series is on sale – including the 16e. On the other side of the iOS/Android divide, the Pixels are on sale too. The Apple iPhone 16e serves as the 'cheap' iPhone after the SE series was discontinued. We put it in quotes since it's not that cheap – but having a €100 discount helps. You do lose quite a few features compared to the vanilla 16, though – here is a detailed iPhone 16e vs. iPhone 16 comparison. Those extra features come at a price, however, somewhere around €200, depending on which storage option you are looking at. Of course, if you are looking at more capable models, you should also consider the similarly-sized Pro – here is the iPhone 16 vs. 16 Pro head-to-head article. Some people prefer larger displays and batteries and the Apple iPhone 16 Plus offers just that. Here is how it compares with the smaller iPhone 16. There is a similar debate among the Pro duo – their features are mostly the same, the main differences stem from the display and battery size. Check out the iPhone 16 Pro vs. 16 Pro Max for a detailed discussion on the pros and cons of each model. We promised you Pixels and here they are, starting with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. It has the biggest discount here – up to €383 – though we will warn you that the exact amount depends on both storage and color. Which is better, this or the iPhone? Check out our thoughts on the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Pixel 9 Pro XL comparison. Again, you have the option of mostly the same features in a smaller package (with a smaller screen and battery) in the Google Pixel 9 Pro. Still, you can find the in-depth comparison here. Finally, there is the cheaper Google Pixel 9. We would point you to the Pixel 9 vs. 9 Pro article, but the comparison here is not so straightforward – Amazon will sell you an Acer Chromebook for just €5 extra. This is a continuation of the free Chromebook offer from a few weeks ago. It's not a very capable laptop, but coupled with the major discount on the phone (the discount is bigger now), it's a deal worth considering. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
