TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have taken to court the new law targeting the popular social media platform in the United States (US). The legislation, signed by President Joe Biden last month, forces ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations until January next year or face a permanent nationwide ban.
Shortly after the legislation was signed, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had announced that the platform would challenge the law in court, saying it violates the right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment of the US constitution.
TikTok has roughly 170 million active users in the US where the regulatory authorities view it as a “spying tool” and an “agent” of China. The proponents of the ban on TikTok claim the platform could be used against Americans by the Chinese government for “traditional espionage operations”.
The lawsuit against the controversial legislation — which is called “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” — was filed on Tuesday in a federal court. The companies have argued that the law forcing TikTok’s divesture in order to remain accessible across US stands in violation of the American constitution and that TikTok’s sale is “simply not possible”, whether legally, commercially or otherwise.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” TikTok and ByteDance state in their complaint. The law will force the shutdown of TikTok by January 2025, taking away the right of 170 million American users to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere, according to the complaint.
TikTok will be removed from app stores by January 19, 2025, if it does not sell its US operations or fails to secure a verdict in its favour from the court. TikTok has been facing intense regulatory scrutiny in the US for the past four years as its popularity mounted, with politicians and regulators accusing it of being under the influence of the Chinese government.
They have raised concerns that ByeDance could be forced into handing over data of US users to the Chinese government. However, no substantial evidence has been produced by supporters of the ban so far.
TikTok has repeatedly rejected these allegations, saying it will, under no circumstances, share any data from the US with China and that no such request has been made by the government. TikTok has spent at least $2 billion in initiatives to alleviate security concerns in both the US and Europe, where several countries have banned the app from government-issued devices.
