Looming TikTok ban poses financial nightmare for Google, Apple and other American tech firms with ties to Chinas ByteDance

The looming TikTok ban presents a multibillion-dollar headache for app store operators Apple and Google – as well as other Big Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon that count its Chinese parent company ByteDance as a business partner.The Biden administration effectively punted enforcement of the law, which is set to take effect on Sunday, to President-elect Donald Trump, who formally takes office the next day and has vowed to save the app.On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected TikTok’s appeal and upheld the law, determining it does not violate the First Amendment.Under the law, Google and Apple must stop allowing new downloads of TikTok – with potential fines of $5,000 per user if they don’t comply.

Sen.Tom Cotton – the outspoken Arkansas Republican who has supported the national ban – suggested that companies should be wary of ignoring the law even with assurances from key lawmakers that they won’t be on the hook for penalties.“Penalties for companies like Apple and Google could run as high as $850 billion.

Not sure I’d take a politician’s word if I ran those companies,” he wrote on X.Aside from the immediate risks, Google and Apple will have to weigh the possibility that Trump or a future president could later decide to take action against them for failing to adhere to the law, experts told The Post.Google declined to comment on its plans.Representatives for Apple did not respond to a request for comment.The Supreme Court noted in its unanimous ruling that “Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”Aside from the implications for Google and Apple, the Supreme Court’s decision adds fresh complications for Big Tech firms that have problematic “entanglements” with TikTok and ByteDance, according to Geoffrey Cain, policy director at the Tech Integrity Project and author of “T...