TikTok claims that passing the TikTok Ban Act would violate free speech and that the Justice Department “misunderstands our relationship with the Chinese government.”

August 19, 2024, 11:23 a.m.

The US Congress

passed a regulatory bill, also known as a “de facto TikTok ban,” on April 23, 2024, and President Joe Biden signed the law. After the law was passed, TikTok appealed to the federal appeals court, but on August 15, 2024, TikTok argued that “the U.S. government misrepresented TikTok.”

EPLY WRITING OF THE PETITIONS TIKTOK INC. AND BYTEDANCE LTD.
(PDF file) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.40861/gov.uscourts.cadc.40861.2070338.0.pdf

TikTok denies US claims of China ties in appeal | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/legal/tiktok-disputes-us-claims-china-ties-court-appeal-2024-08-16/

TikTok compares itself to foreign American news agencies in fight against ban | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-ban-sell-china-e2d927825f1539c787c4b15b74b0919a

TikTok Fights for Survival in Latest Lawsuit as Ban Nears: NPR
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/15/nx-s1-5077782/tiktok-survival-filing-ban-approaches

The law, which will come into force in April 2024, is called “ Protecting Americans from national security threats from applications controlled by the Foreign Adversaries Act ,' and requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok and its related applications within nine months. If TikTok fails to comply with the sale, TikTok will be banned from using app stores and web hosting services in the United States.

Following the law's passage, TikTok filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 7, 2024.

TikTok sues over ban in the USA – GIGAZINE

The US Department of Justice has claimed that TikTok poses a national security risk and that the app could allow the Chinese government to collect Americans' personal data and secretly manipulate the content they can view.

TikTok countered that the government's concerns were mere speculation and lacked solid evidence, adding that the app's content recommendation engine and user data are stored on cloud servers operated by U.S.-based Oracle, and all content moderation decisions affecting American users are made in the U.S.

TikTok has previously stated that the de facto TikTok ban law violates freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment, but the Justice Department argues that TikTok, a foreign organization owned by a foreign company and operating abroad, is not entitled to First Amendment protections. In response, TikTok criticized the move, saying, “The U.S. division of TikTok may be owned by a foreign company, but that is the same as Politico And Business Insider both owned by the German publisher Axel Springer AG And Assets owned by Thai businessman Chachaval Jiaravanont, and these business magazines do not lose First Amendment protection just because they are owned by a foreign company.'

Oral arguments between the U.S. government and TikTok are scheduled to take place on September 16, 2024, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the United States District Court in Washington, DC.