Attorney General Letters Implementing Executive Order 14166 Application of PAFACA Act to TikTok
| Tracking # |
A-2025-01185 FOIA-2025-02723 |
| Submitted | Feb. 19, 2025 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Anthony Tan
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. Any letters issued by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 2(c) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, "Application of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok."
2. Any written guidance issued by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 2(b) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, "Application of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok."
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I am willing to pay fees for this request up to a maximum of $200. If you estimate that the fees will exceed this limit, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request.
I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Anthony Tan
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Please find attached correspondence related to your Freedom of Information Act request.
From: Anthony Tan
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on February 19, 2025. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2025-02723.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
From: Anthony Tan
To Whom It May Concern:
This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act. On February 19, 2025, I requested the following records from the Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General (“your agency”):
1. Any letters issued by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 2(c) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, "Application of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok."
2. Any written guidance issued by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 2(b) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, "Application of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok."
Your agency assigned the following reference number to my request: FOIA-2025-02723.
On March 26, 2025, Douglas R. Hibbard, Chief of Initial Request Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy, informed me that “no records responsive to your request were located.”
I appeal your agency’s response because it is in error. The requested records exist at your agency for the following reasons:
(1) Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025 required your agency to issue the letter that I am requesting. Specifically, Section 2 Paragraph (c) of the Executive Order required “the Attorney General to issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period, as well as for any conduct from the effective date of the Act until the issuance of this Executive Order.”
(2) The existence of the requested letter from your agency is widely reported in the news. Specifically:
The New York Times: “Apple and Google had recently received letters from the Justice Department assuring them that they would not face fines for carrying TikTok in their app stores, said two people with knowledge of the communications.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/technology/tiktok-apple-google-app-stores.html)
Bloomberg: “Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are restoring ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok to their app stores on Thursday following assurances in a letter from US Attorney General Pam Bondi that a ban wouldn’t immediately be enforced.” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/apple-to-restore-tiktok-to-us-app-store-following-justice-department-letter)
Politico: “Apple restored the app after Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to the company assuring it will not face fines for violating a law that banned the video-sharing platform last month, according to a person familiar with the correspondence.” (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/13/google-apple-restore-tiktok-00204271)
Based on the above, your agency possesses the records that I am requesting, and your agency is required to produce these records.
Thank you for your consideration of this appeal. I look forward to receiving your response to this appeal within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Anthony Tan
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
The Office of Information Policy has received your FOIA Appeal. Please see the attached acknowledgment letter.
