Companies risk billions in fines if they believe Trump's TikTok 'verbal promises': report

President-elect Donald Trump took steps to restore TikTok that legal experts claimed don't "follow the law" set out by Congress when they implemented a ban on the social media platform for national security reasons.

Trump posted to TruthSocial Sunday, "I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order."

According to Politico, "Biden officials briefly considered the same option, before concluding that the president wouldn’t have the authority to use it even ahead of the ban."

Congress gave TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance until Sunday to divest and sell the company. So far, there's been no news of a sale, although Elon Musk and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary have expressed interest.

ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration

Politico reporter Christine Miu wrote, "According to the law, Trump would need to certify to Congress that there is a path to divestiture, 'significant progress' toward it, and the 'relevant binding legal agreements' are in place. None of those conditions appear to be in place yet, as ByteDance has resisted a sale."

TikTok went back online in the U.S. shortly after Trump's proposal, posting, "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

According to the report, there are major risks involved in just taking Trump's word for it.

"Likewise, it’s questionable whether the other companies can legally rely on verbal promises from the president to protect them from potentially bankruptcy-inducing fines, if they help bring TikTok back. App stores and service providers face a daily $5,000 fine for every user who can still access TikTok, and those penalties easily add up to billions of dollars," Politico is reporting.

Read the Politico article here.