Prof. Alan Rozenshtein Quoted in New York Times About Trump’s Refusal to Enforce Law That Bans TikTok

Professor Alan Rozenshtein was quoted in the New York Times about letters to tech firms from the attorney general telling them they could lawfully violate the law that bars American companies from supporting TikTok based on a claim that Donald Trump has the constitutional power to set aside laws. In letters to companies like Apple and Google, Pam Bondi wrote that Trump had decided that shutting down TikTok would interfere with his “constitutional duties,” so the law banning the social media app must give way to his “core presidential national security and foreign affairs powers.” The letters portrayed Trump as having nullified the legal effects of a statute that Congress passed by large bipartisan majorities in 2024 and that the Supreme Court unanimously upheld. Prof. Rozenshtein referred to the part of the Constitution that says presidents must take care that the laws be faithfully executed and said, “There are other things that are more important than TikTok in today’s world, but for pure refusal to enforce the law as Article II requires, it’s just breathtaking.”