Attorney General Pam Bondi told tech companies that they could lawfully violate a statute barring American companies from supporting TikTok based on a sweeping claim that President Trump has the constitutional power to set aside laws, newly disclosed documents show, The New York Times reported.
In letters to companies like Apple and Google, Ms. Bondi wrote that Mr. Trump had decided that shutting down TikTok would interfere with his “constitutional duties,” so the law banning social media apps must give way to his “core presidential national security and foreign affairs powers.”
The letters, which became public on Thursday via the Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, portrayed by Mr. Trump as having nullified the legal status of a statute that Congress passed by large effects of a statute that Congress passed by large bipartisan majorities in 2024 and that the Supreme Court unanimously upheld.
WIRED reported: US Attorney General Pam Bondi has told at least 10 tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, that they have “incurred no liability” for supporting TikTok despite the federal ban on providing services to the popular video-sharing app, according to letters disclosed on Thursday.
Under orders from President Donald Trump, Bondi has refused to enforce a law passed by Congress last year that classifies TikTok as a national security risk because of its ties to China and bars companies from distributing the app to US consumers.
TikTok can dodge the ban by reducing the ownership Chinese entities have in its US operations, and Trump has described those negotiations as ongoing. But constitutional experts have questioned the legality of executive orders by Trump that delay enforcement of the ban as those sales drag out.
Engadget reported: More than six months after TikTok was briefly banned, we still don’t know exactly what its fate in the US will be. But we do have new insight into the legal wrangling that has allowed Apple, Google, and other platforms to continue to support the app.
If you remember, TikTok was only “banned” for a matter of hours shortly before President Donald Trump took office in January and delayed enforcement of the law. The app’s service was promptly restored January 19, 2025, but the app didn’t return to Apple and Google’s app stores until February 13.
Reporting at the time suggested the companies had lingering concerns about potential liability for running afoul of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.