TikTok processed to block the law that would force the app to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be banned in the US,
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the U.S. government, TikTok and ByteDance argued that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Act, violates the First Amendment.
The law gives ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok to a new company that will be allowed to operate it in the US, otherwise the app will be banned from US networks and online app stores. The president can give ByteDance another 90 days to sell TikTok if he deems it necessary.
But TikTok argued that “qualified divestment” “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally” and would therefore lead to the closure of the app in the US, cutting off millions of daily users.
TikTok also criticized the law for singling out the app by name. Although the law grants the president the authority to name other applications that may fall under the same regulations, TikTok and ByteDance are the only ones specified in the measure.
Even if the sale were “feasible,” Tik Tok argued, the law would still be “an extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power” and would set a precedent that allows Congress to “circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any newspaper or individual website to sell to avoid being shut down.”
The law is the latest and most serious threat to TikTok’s future in the US, but it’s not the first time the company has faced a potential ban.
The Trump administration also tried to ban TikTok, but the move was blocked in federal court. The company also defended itself against state-level bans, like the Montana law, which a judge later blocked
But the new law is the most prominent threat facing TikTok’s future operation in the US. The law’s national security basis could make it more difficult for TikTok to defend itself in court.
The project was quickly approved in Congress, with broad bipartisan support. The House passed the bill by a resounding 352 votes to 65 in March, less than a week after it was first introduced.
The TikTok ban measure passed the Senate as part of a larger foreign aid package, which Biden signed into law last month.
Updated at 1:11 pm EDT.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
