Prof. Alan Rozenshtein Interviewed by NPR About Actions to Restore TikTok Not Changing an Act of Congress

Professor Alan Rozenshtein was interviewed by NPR about the ongoing discussion of the TikTok ban which took effect Jan. 19, the supposed 75-day law enforcement pause by Donald Trump, and legal implications for firms that provide web hosting and cloud infrastructure to TikTok. While Trump's executive action Monday attempted to clarify the legal landscape for TikTok, Prof. Rozenshtein said trying to extend the law’s start date and insulate companies from liability does not change an act of Congress. “Those actions do not stop the law from being in effect. And it does not stop, let’s say, Oracle, from violating the law — which, as far as I can tell, it is doing right now.” The law does allow one exception: TikTok can continue to operate if Trump certifies to Congress that “significant progress” has been made toward TikTok breaking away from ByteDance’s ownership. The law requires that Trump show Congress there are legally binding agreements in motion over ownership changes at TikTok. Prof. Rozenshtein said if Trump tells Congress those things have happened, when they have not, in order to extend the legal start date of the ban, then “that would effectively mean one of his first acts as president would be lying to Congress.”