Technology
- Home
- Technology
- News
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…

Published 6 hours ago on Jul 9th 2025, 5:00 am
By Web Desk

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:
* Microsoft
* Akamai Technologies
* Digital Realty Trust
* T-Mobile US
* LG Electronics USA
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.
[Media: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25989921-department-of-justice-tiktok-letters/]

Monsoon spell, weather pleasant with torrential rain across Punjab
- 3 hours ago

Staff below grade 18 in Punjab hospitals banned from using mobiles
- 3 hours ago

Turkish FM Hakan Fidan arrives in Islamabad
- 2 hours ago

Topuria? Ruffy? Wellmaker? Who owns the best KO of the midyear?
- 5 hours ago

Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James set to produce
- 5 hours ago

This is not a tattoo robot
- 6 hours ago

The Ploopy Knob is an open-source control dial for your PC
- 6 hours ago

Last day for mandatory registration for Hajj 2026
- 36 minutes ago

CM Punjab inaugurates development projects in Rawalpindi
- 3 hours ago

The Loop Micro is my new favorite bicycle phone mount
- 6 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani’s not-so-radical agenda
- 4 hours ago

A guide to the best sci-fi streaming this summer
- 6 hours ago
You May Like
Trending