Congressional Pressure Mounts: TikTok's Divestment Deadline

U.S. lawmakers are urging Google and Apple to potentially remove TikTok from their app stores, following a federal court ruling. Representatives John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi called on TikTok to divest from its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, to protect U.S. national security.

Amid growing security concerns, U.S. legislators are increasing pressure on tech giants Alphabet and Apple to prepare for the possible removal of TikTok from their app stores by January 19.

This development follows a federal appeals court's decision upholding a law that mandates ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, to either divest its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban.

Urging swift action, Representatives John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi emphasized TikTok's divestiture as a crucial step in safeguarding U.S. national security and protecting the privacy of its 170 million American users.

(With inputs from agencies.)