For more than six years, Amazon Web Services, the world's largest cloud computing company, has been Technical support to distribute TikTok videos to tens of millions of Americans.
But over the weekend, Amazon faced a dilemma. A new law has been enacted banning TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, in the United States. Tech companies will be prohibited from distributing and updating it or face financial penalties. At the same time, President-elect Donald J. Trump was telling tech companies he planned to suspend enforcement of the law via executive order.
Hours before the ban went into effect, Amazon appeared to be complying with the law, according to a New York Times review of how TikTok handled its web traffic. Instead, Akamai Technologies, a Massachusetts-based company that was already helping deliver TikTok videos to mobile phones, took over more technical support.
The change, discovered by digital forensics conducted by the Times, was one of the smaller behind-the-scenes maneuvers that show how different tech companies' approaches to banning TikTok are.
Apple and Google have also chosen to follow the law. They quickly removed TikTok and other apps owned by ByteDance from the app store. However, another tech giant, Oracle, was still processing and providing TikTok user data. Akamai and Fastly, which speed up processing times for TikTok videos, still had similar results.
The split highlights the dilemma the TikTok ban is forcing on major U.S. technology companies. That means either risk alienating a mercurial president who has made his support for TikTok very public as part of his inauguration policy decisions, or risk violating federal law and facing fines of up to billions of dollars. is. . Legal experts said it was unclear whether Trump's executive order would protect businesses from the law's potential fines and lawsuits.
“On the one hand, we have a huge theoretical debt of up to $850 billion, but on the other hand, we have the potential benefit of following President Trump's wishes and beholden to him,” said Neil Suri, an analyst at Capstone. I have also gained a lot of money,” he said. Policy research company.
Tech companies assessed the risks differently. Apple believes Trump's executive order is sufficient to override its responsibility to comply with the law, according to two people who spoke with Apple representatives about the company's plans but were not authorized to speak publicly. He said he didn't think so. Google has reached a similar decision, said one of the people who spoke with company representatives and a person familiar with the company's thinking.
Oracle and other companies have been hesitant to break the law under the Biden administration, said two business people who were not authorized to speak publicly over the weekend. This is the main reason why the app was down for half a day over the weekend. When the ban comes into effect.
But they believe the promise of Trump's executive order brings new strength and urged them to help get the app back up and running in the U.S., the people said.
Amazon, Fastly and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. Google, Apple, Oracle, and Akamai declined to comment.
The mixed reactions seem to be driven by money, politics, and fear.
Apple and Google had come under intense scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the TikTok ban. They control the software that powers millions of American smartphones.
They also have a financial interest in the app, as TikTok benefits from its use of in-app payment services. Last year, Apple earned $354 million in fees from TikTok, while Google collected $63 million, according to Appfigures, a market research firm focused on the app industry. This was primarily done through digital coins on TikTok that users can purchase and gift to their favorite creators, the company said.
But removing the app would be consistent with Apple and Google's past stances on following the laws of the countries in which they operate around the world.
And TikTok was likely to survive for months without their support. Over the years, TikTok has moved much of its app operations to servers run primarily by Oracle, reducing its reliance on smartphone software, said Ariel Michaeli, founder of Appfigures. He said he updated the app a few days before the ban and provided the latest version at the last minute.
Oracle and Akamai have both told investors that they risk significant revenue and profit losses if they stop hosting and distributing TikTok content.
It also plays an important role in ensuring that the TikTok app works reliably. If they cut ties with TikTok, the app would cease to function and there would be an outcry. TikTok briefly went dark on Saturday and Sunday, and much of the internet exploded.
Oracle also has a uniquely close relationship with Trump and TikTok. Larry Ellison, the company's founder and chief technology officer, joined Trump on Tuesday to announce a new $100 billion artificial intelligence initiative. At the event, Trump mentioned the possibility that Elon Musk or Oracle might buy TikTok and emphasized his “right to make a deal.”
Oracle is also working with TikTok to store sensitive user data in the US and is in talks with TikTok to help review the company's video recommendations in the US as part of a broader security plan.
Amazon's role was small but important. It hosted critical data called Domain Name Service Records that sent hundreds of millions of web browsers and smartphone apps to TikTok's servers.
But the consequences of ignoring the law, which was passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court, could be dire. Legal experts say Oracle and other companies could face new responsibilities by relying on the executive order. Mr. Trump could change his mind or selectively enforce the law against companies that have fallen out of favor, and a future administration could later impose economic penalties under the law's schedule, he said. they say.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called some big tech companies last week to urge them to comply with the law. He said at could face “catastrophic liability.”
Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican and majority leader, said this week that “the law is the law” and “ultimately it has to be obeyed.”
A group of TikTok users and social media companies like Meta and Snap could challenge the executive order and file lawsuits. Capstone analysts said users could claim that the U.S. government's failure to enforce the law improperly protected their data, which is the most likely type of lawsuit. said.
“Oracle has calculated that the chances of it being held liable are extremely remote,” Capstone's Suri said. “Obviously Apple and Google haven't done that calculation. It's a question of whether they look at risk and reward differently.”
david mccabe and Nico Grant Contributed to the report.