TikTok is suing the US government to stop the law that requires the Chinese ownership of the social media to sell or face the ban. The appeal, filed today with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, alleges that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, constitutes a “unprecedented violation” of the First Amendment of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression.
“For the first time in history, Congress has adopted a law that subjects a single, identified platform of expression to a permanent and national ban”, we read in TikTok’s appeal, which recalls that the possible entry into force of the The ban would “prevent every American from participating in a unique online community with more than a billion users worldwide.”
The appeal also dismantles the reasons of national security, stating that Congress has offered no evidence that TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, poses a data security risk or the dissemination of foreign propaganda.
The law, signed by Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance nine months to sell, with the possibility that the president decides on a three-month extension. But now the presentation of the appeal blocks the passing of the ‘hourglass’ and therefore years could pass before any ban actually comes into force.
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