Prof. Alan Rozenshtein Quoted by Forbes and CNN About TikTok Remaining Off App Stores Despite Pause in Federal Ban

Professor Alan Rozenshtein was quoted by Forbes and CNN about TikTok remaining unaccessible through app stores despite a pause in the app’s ban. Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday temporarily pausing the federal ban on TikTok, after access to the app was restored before he even took office, but while companies like Oracle have willingly put the app back online, Apple and Google’s app stores still haven’t restored TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps yet as they could open themselves to legal liability if they do. The companies’ refusal thus far to make TikTok available again is in line with predictions from legal experts before the law took effect, as they suggested any assurances from Trump that he wouldn’t enforce the policy likely wouldn’t be enough to get companies like Apple and Google to comply, given they could still face legal liability if Trump were to reverse course and start enforcing the ban. Prof. Rozenshtein said that Trump’s assurances not to enforce the law “offers minimal security” for companies who violate it by restoring access to TikTok, noting Trump “could change his mind at any time or selectively enforce against companies that fall from political favor” and the law’s five-year statute of limitations means future presidential administrations can still pursue violations of the law.