The Trump administration, once loud about ousting TikTok, has gone silent, leaving Silicon Valley engineer Tony Tan to step into the mix. Tan’s fed up. He’s taken up a lawsuit against the DOJ for not coughing up records explaining why Google and Apple haven’t booted TikTok from their stores. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this circus play out, but Tan’s keen on trudging through legal mud to get his hands on some answers.
Now, he’s dragging Google’s parent company, Alphabet, into the Delaware courts. Tan reckons Google’s rolling the dice, flirting with billions in fines by keeping TikTok on its shelves. Here’s what this really means: If Google’s breaking the law and skating past consequences, it might be leaving Alphabet’s shareholders in the lurch. This time, it’s not about liking or hating TikTok; it’s about how much the rule of law really matters when big players could be ignoring it.
Google’s staying mum, but their lawyer gave Tan’s crew a letter questioning whether a tech giant like Google was really coloring outside the lines. “Curiosity isn’t enough for a records demand,” it scoffed. Translate that? Don’t bother us until there’s tangible damage.
Trump’s attempt to sideline TikTok during his first term painted the app as a national threat, thanks to its Chinese roots. Congress tussled over it, and even the Supreme Court got a taste. But a law preventing companies like Apple and Google from distributing such apps did manage to pass earlier this year. Didn’t make much of a splash with enforcement, though.
For a moment, TikTok vanished—but only for a blip. Then Trump pulled out an executive order pausing the ban’s enforcement to use TikTok in his broader trade chess game with China. Here’s where it stands: Experts are skeptical about that order’s legality, but the legal grit to challenge it is missing. With the deadline looming, Trump’s hinting he may drag it out further.
Tan’s beef? It’s enforcement, plain and simple. He sees TikTok on app stores despite a federal ban. Google’s alleged openness in ignoring the law’s a red flag for him, especially for the shareholders who might get torched when the legal heat turns up.
Tan’s no stranger to battling perceived injustice through litigation. In 2019, he sued a hotel over age discrimination—dropped it when they changed their policy. Earlier this year, he went after the DOJ for opacity in correspondence about Google and Apple’s ongoing support for TikTok. The DOJ denies mishandling anything, predictably.
Tan sought records from Alphabet under Delaware law, trying to sniff out the internal discussion about damning implications. Alphabet stonewalled until a court orders otherwise. The risk’s notable: Companies can face hefty penalties for violating the TikTok ban, and Trump’s letter might not be the safe harbor Google’s betting on.
Google argues Tan’s diving for dirt before any real harm exists. Prudent shareholders would likely want proof of damage before rampaging with legalities. Alphabet, like Apple, hasn’t acknowledged the TikTok law in their risk disclosures, playing the waiting game while Akamai hints at potential future liabilities. Here’s a tip: Keep an eye on disclosures that avoid addressing elephants.
Amid these Trumpian antics this year, Tan’s stirred about the rule of law crumbling—a theme we’ve swirled in before, admittedly. But, as a shareholder, he’s wary of holding a possible legal bag if the law pivots against these tech monoliths.
Tan says no one’s pushing him into these legal battles; he’s fronting the near backbreaking costs himself. His focus on Google circles back to Delaware’s conducive law on shareholder access to company records—a trend sweeping up more shareholders every year. A recent state law could cramp Tan’s efforts by clamping down on what records companies must hand over.
Folks like Shapira, observing corporate governance asymmetries, reveal Delaware’s quirky legal funnel. Here’s what that means in everyday talk: Shareholders could find it harder to drill into what directors knew when suspected antics fly close to the legal sun. Expect more of this tangled dance as companies wriggle under watchful eyes in their sleek boardrooms.
