TikTok files lawsuit against Biden administration over law forcing sale of app

By kevinhughes // 2024-05-10

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TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the government of the United States after President Joe Biden signed the bill requiring parent company ByteDance to sell its stake on the platform or be shut down. ByteDance has stated that it would rather close the short-form video hosting platform than surrender to the bill's demands. In its lawsuit, ByteDance claims the First Amendment rights of TikTok users have been violated. The bill was filed over concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that governs China could have access to user data through a back door in the app. (Related: House committee passes bill ordering TikTok to divest from the CCP.) The lawsuit claims that "There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere." The suit also claimed that TikTok had already spent some $2 billion in security measures to protect American users' data and had already made some security commitments that were organized with the Committee on Foreign Investment in America. The lawsuit further states that ByteDance has been informed by the CCP that it would not allow the sale of the social media platform's algorithm.

TikTok lawsuit insists the bill violates First Amendment

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, May 7, in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., asserts that the bill, Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates constitutional protections of free speech and constitutes an "unprecedented violation" of the First Amendment. "For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide," TikTok said in the lawsuit. ByteDance contends that citing national security concerns is not an adequate reason for restricting free speech and that the burden is on the federal government to prove that this restriction is justified. The lawsuit even notes that Congress has not provided any evidence indicating that TikTok poses the kind of data security risks or foreign propaganda spread that "could conceivably justify" the law and has failed to prove that the app poses any specific harm in these areas. The Department of Justice (DOJ) did not instantly answer a request for comment. A White House spokesperson diverted a request for comment to the Justice Department. "Congress and the Executive Branch have concluded, based on both publicly available and classified information, that TikTok poses a grave risk to national security and the American people. It is telling that TikTok would rather spend its time, money, and effort fighting in court than solving the problem by breaking up with the CCP. I'm confident that our legislation will be upheld," said Rep. John Moolenaar, the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The lawsuit, which had been anticipated since Biden signed the bill on April 24, is likely to add to an already long timeline for a possible ban or sale of the app. ByteDance already had more than a year to move forward with selling its stake in TikTok. The current legal proceedings will break that timeline, meaning it could be years before a ban takes effect. Watch the video below to learn more about TikTok's lawsuit against the U.S. government. This video is from the CreeperStatus channel on Brighteon.com.

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TikTok lawsuit insists the bill violates First Amendment

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