For more than six years, Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest cloud computing company, has provided technical support to deliver TikTok videos to tens of millions of Americans.
But over the weekend, Amazon faced a dilemma. A new law banning the TikTok app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has taken effect in the United States. Technology companies were prohibited from distributing and updating it or else they would face financial penalties. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald J. Trump has been telling tech companies that he intends to temporarily halt enforcement of the law with an executive order.
Just hours before the ban took effect, Amazon appeared to be complying with the law, according to a New York Times review of the way web traffic on TikTok is handled. Instead, Akamai Technologies, a Massachusetts-based company that was already helping deliver TikTok videos to phones, handled more technical support.
The change, captured through digital forensics conducted by The Times, was one of the small behind-the-scenes maneuvers that showed how tech companies have diverged in their approach to banning TikTok.
Apple and Google also chose to follow the law. They quickly removed TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps from their app stores. But Oracle, another tech giant, was still processing and providing TikTok user data. Akamai and Fastly, which speed up processing times for TikTok videos, still do so as well.
The split highlights the dilemma that the TikTok ban has posed for major US tech companies: either risk alienating a volatile president who has made his support for TikTok a very public part of his inaugural policymaking, or risk breaking federal law and facing penalties amounting to billions of dollars. Several legal experts said it was unclear whether Trump’s executive order protects companies from financial penalties imposed by the law or potential lawsuits.
“On the one hand, you have this enormous theoretical liability of $850 billion, and on the other hand, you have the potential benefits of complying with Trump’s wishes and enjoying his good graces,” said Capstone analyst Neil Suri, a Capstone analyst. Policy research company.
Technology companies have differently assessed this risk. Apple did not believe Trump’s executive order would be enough to override its responsibility to follow the law, according to two people who spoke with Apple representatives about its plans but did not have permission to speak publicly. One of those people, who also spoke to its representatives and a person familiar with the company’s thinking, said Google had reached a similar decision.
Oracle and others have been reluctant to violate the law under the Biden administration, said two people involved in their work over the weekend who did not have permission to speak publicly — the main reason the app was down for half a day over the weekend. When the ban came into effect.
But they believe the promise of an executive order from Mr. Trump carries new authority, prompting them to help the app restart its operations in the United States, the people said.
Amazon, Fastly, and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. Google, Apple, Oracle and Akamai declined to comment.
The various responses appear to be driven by money, politics and fear.
Apple and Google were 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 they benefit from TikTok’s use of in-app payment services. Last year, Apple generated $354 million in royalties from TikTok, while Google collected $63 million, according to Appfigures, a market research firm focused on the app industry. The company said this was mainly through digital currencies on TikTok that users can purchase and gift to creators they love.
But removing the app would be consistent with positions Apple and Google have taken in the past, around the world, to follow the laws of the countries in which they operate.
TikTok would likely have been able to survive for several months without their support. Over the years, TikTok has shifted much of its app operations to servers, primarily run by Oracle, so that it relies less on smartphone software, said Ariel Michaeli, founder of Appfigures. He said it also updated the app in the days before the ban, offering the latest version at the last possible moment.
Both Oracle and Akamai told investors that they would lose significant sales and profits if they stopped hosting and distributing TikTok content.
They also play crucial roles in making sure TikTok gets up and running. If they stop working with TikTok, the app won’t work and protests will follow. Much of the internet exploded on Saturday and Sunday when TikTok briefly launched Darkness gone.
Oracle also has a close and unique relationship with Mr. Trump and with TikTok. Larry Ellison, the company’s founder and chief technology officer, joined Mr. Trump Announcement on Tuesday About a new $100 billion artificial intelligence initiative. At the event, Trump stated that Elon Musk or Oracle could buy TikTok and stressed his “right to make a deal.”
Oracle too works with TikTok to store sensitive US user data, and has been 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 was hosting a crucial piece of data, called a Domain Name Service record, that directs hundreds of millions of web browsers and smartphone apps to TikTok’s servers.
But the consequences of violating the law, which passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court, could be painful. Legal experts say Oracle and other companies could expose themselves to new liability by relying on the executive order. They say Trump could change his mind or selectively enforce the law against unpopular companies, and a future administration could later impose financial penalties under the law’s timeline.
Senator Tom Cotton, Republican from Arkansas and Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, He made calls For some big tech companies last week to say they need to comply with the law. He said on the
Senator John Thune, Republican from South Dakota and Majority Leader, He said This week that “the law is the law” and “ultimately it must be followed.”
A group of TikTok users or social media companies like Meta or Snap could also file lawsuits challenging the executive order. Users could argue that the US government was not adequately protecting their data by failing to enforce the law, Capstone analysts wrote, saying this is the most likely type of lawsuit.
“Oracle is doing the calculus that the likelihood of them being held liable is very slim,” Capstone’s Mr. Suri said. “Apple and Google clearly haven’t made that calculation. It’s a matter of seeing the reward for risk differently.
David McCabe and Nico Grant Contributed to reports.
