TikTok and ByteDance fight back, sue US government over potential ban

May 7

By Simone Del Rosario (Business Correspondent), Brent Jabbour (Senior Producer), Jake Maslo (Editor), Mohammed Ali (Motion Graphics Designer)

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TikTok and ByteDance filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday, May 7, challenging legislation that would ban or force the sale of the popular app. The companies claim the new law violates the U.S. Constitution and referenced the First Amendment 27 times.

The law, signed by President Biden in April, gives the Chinese parent company until Jan. 19, 2025, to sell the short-form video app or face an outright ban within the U.S.

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The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, claimed the sale, “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.”

According to ByteDance, the Chinese government “has made clear” it would not allow divestment of TikTok, pointing to the success of the recommendation algorithm of the app within the United States.

The suit also alleges that by passing the law, the U.S. government is, “silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

The provision to ban TikTok was part of a broader foreign ad package that included funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Lawmakers wanting to ban the app said they worried the Chinese government could access the data of American users and use the app to influence public opinion.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance didn’t divest its U.S. operations. That move was eventually blocked by the courts. Now, TikTok stores American user information with Oracle rather than on Chinese servers. Trump has since tempered his stance on banning the app.

A recent poll from Reuters/Ipsos found 58% of respondents believe the Chinese government uses TikTok to influence American opinion.

Just 13% said they disagree while the rest were unsure or didn’t answer. The poll also found 50% of Americans support banning the app. Reuters said support for the ban skews older, while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say China is using the app to effect U.S. opinions.

As part of the new law, app stores from companies like Apple and Google would be forced to stop offering TikTok. Service providers would also not be able to supportthe app if it is not sold to a U.S.-approved company by Jan. 19. The law is structured so that the deadline could be extended by three months if there is progress in talks of a sale.

Tags: ByteDance, China, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, TikTok

Simone Del Rosario:

TikTok and ByteDance are suing to block the new U.S. federal law that forces the sale or ban of the popular app.

In Tuesday’s lawsuit, the Chinese company says the new law violates the U.S. Constitution. The petition mentions the First Amendment 27 times.

The lawsuit reads, “Banning TikTok is so obviously unconstitutional, in fact, that even the Act’s sponsors recognized that reality, and therefore have tried mightily to depict the law not as a ban at all, but merely a regulation of TikTok’s ownership.”

That’s because the law gives two options, get banned in the U.S., or sell off TikTok. But ByteDance claims the divestment option is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And especially not in the 270-day time frame.

The law calls for TikTok to be banned one day before President Biden’s current term expires. ByteDance says “There is no question: The act would force a shutdown on that day, silencing 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

They also said the Chinese government would not let them divest the recommendation algorithm, which makes TikTok so valuable.

Lawmakers moved to pass the TikTok ban out of concern the Chinese government could access U.S. user data and use the app to influence public opinion.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this month, 58% of responding Americans do believe the Chinese government uses TikTok to influence American opinion. Only 13% disagreed, the rest were unsure or didn’t answer. The same poll found 50% of Americans support banning TikTok, 32% oppose and the rest were unsure. Support for the ban skews older, while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see China using the app to affect U.S. opinions.

Despite signing the TikTok ban now in question, Biden is still using the app for his presidential campaign. And though former President Trump has floated a TikTok ban in the past, he has since changed his tune, and his campaign is considering using the app to reach voters.

I’m Simone Del Rosario for Straight Arrow News.