(Bloomberg) — TikTok and its China-based parent ByteDance Ltd. have argued that the U.S. government could have enacted less restrictive alternatives to banning the app to address national security concerns.
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TikTok’s lawyers said in a court filing Thursday that the company had negotiated a 90-page national security agreement with the federal government to provide “multilayered safeguards and enforcement mechanisms,” but Congress disregarded that basis by enacting the TikTok ban earlier this year.
TikTok and the company’s content creators brought legal challenges last month after President Joe Biden signed a provision that will ban the app if ByteDance does not divest it by January 19. around security risks that China could access US user information and use TikTok to influence citizens.
TikTok said there is no evidence to validate concerns that the app poses a threat to national security.
In its report, the company said it spent more than a year negotiating a deal with the US that would have reduced any national security risks. For example, if the government determined that the company violated the agreement, TikTok could face significant financial sanctions and be forced to close in the US.
But the US government abruptly withdrew from those discussions and delivered a message in early 2023 that the social media platform would be forced to divest its US business, according to the company.
TikTok’s attempts to resolve concerns by working with Oracle Corp. to protect users’ information have not placated lawmakers. TikTok’s algorithm, source code and back-end support are still in China, according to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, who supported the divestment.
The company also outlined its reasons for filing the lawsuit against Attorney General Merrick Garland. TikTok has argued that the ban will infringe on free speech rights and harm those who make a living creating content on the platform.
“The law is unprecedented,” TikTok said in the court filing. “Never before has Congress expressly singled out and closed a specific speech forum. Never before has Congress silenced so much speech in a single act.”
In the summary, TikTok said it is not “technologically, commercially or legally possible” for ByteDance to divest the video-sharing platform.
“Even if divestment were viable, TikTok in the United States would still be reduced to a shell of its former self, stripped of the innovative and expressive technology that tailors content to each user,” the company said.
Justice Department lawyers have until July 26 to respond to TikTok’s arguments. The D.C. Circuit panel previously set an accelerated timeline after TikTok asked for the case to be decided by Dec. 6 so there would be enough time to request an emergency review by the Supreme Court if necessary.
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