Short-form video platform TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance claim that a U.S. ban is inevitable without a court order that blocks a law signed by President Joe Biden that requires the company to be sold to a U.S. entity before January 19, 2025.
ByteDance said divestiture in the U.S. is impossible “technologically, commercially or legally,” and that the law violates Americans’ free speech rights. “This law is a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet, and sets a dangerous precedent allowing the political branches to target a disfavored speech platform and force it to sell or be shut down,” ByteDance and TikTok wrote when asking the court to strike down the law.
Lawsuits filed by TikTok, ByteDance and platform users will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on September 16. U.S. legislators have said that the Chinese government could access Americans’ data or spy on them through TikTok. In a filing on Thursday, lawyers for TikTok users said that there’s clearly no imminent national security risks because the law allows TikTok to operate through the remainder of 2024.
