Matt Schettenhelm
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mattschett.bsky.social
Matt Schettenhelm
@mattschett.bsky.social
Bloomberg Intelligence, Litigation & Policy Analyst. TMT suits, FCC & FTC, after a decade practicing law. @umich, @gwlaw. Opinions mine, RTs≠endorse.
Not clear the courts thought the TikTok law permits TikTok Inc or ByteDance to retain ownership of the app or algorithm.
September 29, 2025 at 3:42 PM
It's hard to challenge a decision not to prosecute.

But a written statement about whether the law has been violated?

It's possible the "no violation" letters are the support on which the current status quo is built.

www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
It Took Two Tries For The DOJ To Convince Apple And Google To Restore TikTok
Fearing enormous fines, Google and Apple held off from reinstating TikTok to their app stores until the DOJ sent them a second version of President Trump’s “written guidance.”
www.forbes.com
June 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Thanks!
May 1, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Matt Schettenhelm
@mattschett.bsky.social thanks again for pointing this out! I updated my piece to refer to it and gave you a hat tip in the update.
www.americanprogress.org/article/publ...
Public Companies Should Be Transparent About Not Complying With TikTok Ban
Public companies’ reliance on Trump’s questionable executive orders allowing them to not comply with the TikTok ban raises questions about their potential liability and whether they should disclose th...
www.americanprogress.org
May 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Or 10-K, my bad -- I see your link now.
April 30, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Sure! That looks right. Think it was in the last 10-Q.
April 30, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Akamai made such a disclosure.
April 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
At oral argument, Justice Sotomayor asked if the part of the law that stops the post-divestiture companies from "conferring on the algorithm" should be cut out of the law -- the SG resisted that, but was willing to accept it.

The Supreme Court didn't make that cut.
April 3, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Strangely, no judge at the Eighth Circuit stopped to ask the FCC why it was still defending an order that Brendan Carr and fellow Republican Nathan Simington dissented to.
March 19, 2025 at 6:55 PM
The FCC could opt not to defend the rules, by urging the court to hold the case in abeyance until it can re-visit its rules. But by keeping up the fight, the FCC opens the door to the court wiping away the rules much faster than the FCC itself could through a rulemaking.
March 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
2. Has any TikTok user data been accessed improperly in China after January 19? If so, it would boost TikTok users' case of standing if they were to challenge Trump's EO. Demonstrating specific, concrete harm is one of biggest hurdles.
March 12, 2025 at 4:11 PM