TikTok is suing the US government over a law that aims to force the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it within nine months or ban its use in the United States.
The popular video-sharing platform is attempting to block the recently passed bill, arguing that it violates the US Constitution, including the First Amendment which protects free speech.
The bill, officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was signed by President Joe Biden on April 24 and gives ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, until January 19 next year to sell the app to another company or face a ban.
The measure passed overwhelmingly in Congress last month amid concerns among U.S. politicians that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app.
Tic Tac denies sharing or would ever share US user data, accusing US politicians of promoting “speculative” concerns.
More than a billion people use TikTok worldwide, including 170 million in the United States, which is the country with the platform’s largest audience.
The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday by TikTok and ByteDance in Washington in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, called the act an “unprecedented violation” of the First Amendment.
He said: “For the first time in history, Congress has passed legislation that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent nationwide ban and prohibits every American from participating in a community online with more than a billion people worldwide.
He also said: “There is no doubt: The law will force the shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be reproduced elsewhere.”
Will the US ban TikTok?
ByteDance said it “does not intend to sell TikTok.” But even if it wanted to, the company would have to get the green light from Beijing, which had previously opposed a forced sale of the platform and has signaled its opposition this time around.
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TikTok argues that invoking national security concerns is not a sufficient reason to restrict free speech, and that the onus is on the US federal government to prove that such restriction is justified. He failed to meet that burden, the lawsuit says.
Why is TikTok facing a US ban?
Attracting around 170 million American users in seven years, TikTok has taken America by storm. But Washington has long been concerned about Chinese ownership of the social media platform.
Beijing-based technology company ByteDance initially launched the Chinese version of the app called Douyin, meaning “trembling sound”, in 2016. It later launched an international version – TikTok – in November 2017.
Since then, the platform has experienced a meteoric rise. Fueled by its popularity among Gen Z, it has become an influential social media platform. But it has become a target on both sides of the political spectrum in Washington, as well as other Western countries, due to fears over its use of user data.
US politicians and officials have expressed concern that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data. TikTok said it has never done this and would not do it if asked. There are also concerns about the influence on Americans by removing or promoting certain content on TikTok.
The use of TikTok by nearly four million federal government employees on devices owned by its agencies is already prohibited in the United States, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security purposes. security research. A similar ban is also in force for civil servants in the United Kingdom.
India was the first country to ban TikTok in 2020 following a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Interestingly, TikTok is also not available in app stores in China – where the internet is tightly controlled by the state – and Douyin is used instead.
In March, TikTok’s chief executive made a direct appeal to U.S. users to stop the bill forcing the sale of the app and accused U.S. lawmakers of trying to shut down the platform. In a video posted to the platform, Shou Zi Chew told users that the bill “will lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States,” adding: “Even the sponsors of the bill admit that this is their goal “.
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The lawsuit claimed that if the law remained in effect, it would allow the federal government to force publishers of other platforms, including news sites, to sell or shut down, citing national security reasons.
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Opponents of the law argue that Chinese authorities could easily obtain information about Americans through other means, including through commercial data brokers who rent or sell personal information.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.
