Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer who represented a group of creators at the Supreme Court, pointed to the stakes for a host of affluent companies when he and TikTok attempted to pressure President Joe Biden Friday into promising they would not be punished.

“[It] would cause substantial and avoidable disruption to the third-party providers that may be subject to severe penalties if they continue to provide TikTok to its millions of users,” he told the outgoing president in a letter shared with POLITICO. “There is no compelling need to risk that result.”