TikTok and ByteDance challenge app banning US law in January

TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have asked a US court to invalidate a law that would have banned the widely used short-video app in the United States from January 19. ByteDance says the U.S. government has refused to engage in meaningful settlement negotiations from 2022.

Legislation signed by President Joe Biden in April requires ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban from the app, which has 170 million U.S. users. ByteDance says a forced divestment is “not technologically, commercially or legally possible.”

On September 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hear oral arguments regarding lawsuits filed by users of TikTok, ByteDance and TikTok. The outcome of this case could determine TikTok’s future in the United States and influence how the U.S. government regulates foreign-owned apps.

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“This law is a radical departure from the tradition of promoting an open Internet in this country and sets a dangerous precedent allowing political branches to target an unfavorable speech platform and force it to be sold or shut down,” ByteDance and TikTok argue in their request to the court to overturn the law. as reported by Reuters. The legislation, which Congress passed with overwhelming support, comes amid concerns among U.S. lawmakers that China could use the app to access data about Americans or conduct espionage.

TikTok maintains that any attempted divestment or separation would be a lengthy process, even if technically feasible, and says the law violates Americans’ right to free speech. Additionally, TikTok argues that the regulations unfairly target the app by neglecting other apps that do significant business in China and collect extensive user data in the U.S., as well as many U.S. companies that develop software and employ engineers in China.

Source: Reuters