With the date of selling Tiktok on April 5, Americans returned to the place where they were standing before the original deadline in January: watching anxious to see if a large application is banned on social media. But this is far from the only big event that we will see next month. April is filled with important turns in long-term technical policy stories-some of which may change the industry, while others are at risk of fading.
The first and a half months of the second month of President Donald Trump’s second was dramatically declining to the technology industry, which faces real challenges, though to a large extent. Trump’s comfort. After chaos FTC Commissioners shot, Dodge Dismantling the federal governmentAnd constantly delaying definitions, the next few weeks can be unusually occupied by also. The deadline of Trump allows her to slip, such as those planned for a long time, such as those that cover Tiktok, new tariffs, and a pair of anti -monopoly cases that include apples and dead.
Here’s everything you need to know to prepare.
Trump said I intentionally chose April 2 During the April Fool’s day because it is “a little fabulous”, but it is still wise to expect what is unexpected for taxes on imported goods. the The official order Last week, he explained a 25 percent tariffs for car imports It will apply at 12:01 am on April 3. He also threatened to implement:
- 25 percent tariffs on Goods are from countries that import Venezuelan oil
- A 200 % mutual tariff European wine and alcohol
- A 25 percent tariff on the goods imported from Canada or Mexico (after a Delay one month))
- A specific tariff is not specific to Agricultural imports
- The mutual definitions that will The disclosure is made on April 2
Trump’s tariff Fluctuation It stopped amid the reaction and discussions with foreign leaders, but the deadline in early April vehicle imports to the United States has been held so far. Trump has promised A 25 percent permanent tariff for cars and trucks That is imported to the country, while Mutual definitions It is supposed to reduce what he has Administration views as imbalances With commercial partners.
The car tariff is expected to apply to both foreign manufacturers and American car companies that make vehicles abroad and import them to the United States. Experts expect that the cost will eventually be Raising prices for consumers to buy new cars.
April 5: Tiktok ban … or extension
Tiktok is still legally required to strip her from her motherly company, and as with the original deadline in January, she is present Run out Before the ban starts.
Trump Executive order Delay the ban on his first day in his position, and promised that the American Protection Law not imposed from the Foreign Applications Law it controls against TIKTOK service providers – Including companies like Oracle, Akamai, Fastly, Amazon Web Services, Apple and Google – for 75 days. This was really the arrangement Participated legallyGiven that the law that requires the Chinese Tiktok owner to strip him to work in the United States, was already in effect and was The Supreme Court supported. Apple and Google have been stopped Return tiktok to their application stores Even the Public Prosecutor Pam Bondi According to what was reported, they sent them a message Ensure that they will be immune from legal consequences under the Trump administration if they do so.
Trump has I promised to sell Tiktok Agreement before the deadline, but the details remain mysterious. It is still completely possible to expand the deadline simply again, in an attempt to maintain the status quo while the deal is supposed to come out. but He also warned Democrats in the SenateLegitiously repeated volatilizers leave the TIKTOK service providers at risk – the statute of limitations on the law extends beyond the Trump period, and they risk hundreds of billions of dollars in fines to challenge the law. Apple, AWS, Google, Akamai, Fastly and Oracle did not respond to the suspension requests.
“Bytedance must completely strip its control over Tiktok and have no opinion on its operations, and the data, content or algorithms cannot share.”
Instead, Trump may provide the details of the deal (no matter how vague) by the deadline. Many competitors threw their hat in the ring to take out the hands of Tiktok from Bytedance, including billionaire Frank McCart Project Freedom and Confusion.
Oracle is said to be in a pioneering position To partner with Tiktok to ensure that American user data is not accessed by the Chinese government – but the details reported appear to be as if Texas projectAnd, which was previously rejected by US officials as a very porous to protect US national security. It is not clear that this will fulfill the legal requirements for abstraction, and even the highest Republicans in the House of Representatives Selection Committee in China to caution “The bytedance must completely control Tiktok and has no opinion on its operations; it is not possible for data, content or algorithms.” There is also an issue Whether the Chinese government will agree To allow any copy of the sale happens.
Essentially, based on the options currently on the table, we will likely see the beginning of another legal battle around Tiktok.
April 14: FTC V. Meta Start
FTC A counter -her lawsuit was filed against Mita in late 2020When it was still known as Facebook, the two sides will finally meet in court on April 14 to start the trial.
For several weeks, Judge James Bouasberg will hear a testimony on whether dead are monopolizing the personal social networking market illegally, in part due to his Instagram and WhatsApp operations, which the Federal Trade Committee claims huge competitors. If the government agrees that dead had broken the law, both sides will return later to find out what to do this – including, most likely, relaxing the acquisitions.
It was a rocky issue for FTC, throughout the first period of Trump, when the original lawsuit was filed with the support of the Commissioner for Minority Democrats and the head of the Republican Agency. This was the first complaint – along with a separate lawsuit filed by 48 lawyers of the state and the region – The judge delivered it.
But Boasberg left the FTC option to try again. Agency I submitted a modified complaint During the Biden administration under Democratic President Lina Khan, it seeks to resolve the initial complaints. The result was sufficient to pay the lawsuit forward. In November 2024, after Boasberg mostly denied the Meta proposal to reject it, it is He decided that the case will be transferred to the trial. Now, this trial will start with the return of FTC under Republican control.
April 22: Google’s search treatments begin
Also in the provincial court in the capital, the second phase of the Google Search Monopoly trial begins next month. Judge Amit Mihata spent last summer that Google The public search market illegally monopolizedAs well as the research ads market. Now, Google and the Ministry of Justice will spend two weeks in discussing the changes that the judge must impose on treating the damage caused by illegal monopoly (description of Google Appeals).
At the end of the Biden administration, The Ministry of Justice said these appropriate treatments Google will be forced to take out the Chrome browser – a major arrival point for search engines – transmits data that makes search results very strong, and prohibit exclusion deals like them Millions of dollars agreement with Apple. After the Trump administration took over, the Ministry of Justice preserved Many of the same thing asksAlthough it has modified a few, including allowing Google to pay Apple for non -search agreements. Mihata said it aims to issue a decision By August.
Apple is not a party to the case, but it has Killed to play a larger role in the treatment stage Because she is afraid that her interests may not be adequately represented by Google. but court AGranding with Mihata Apple will have to settle files for files to explain her point of view, instead of playing a more active role in the experiment.
