TikTok owner ByteDance files lawsuit against US law forcing sale of apps | Social Media News

ByteDance, owner of social media platform TikTok, has filed a lawsuit against the US government in an attempt to block a law that would force it to divest of its US assets.

On Tuesday, lawyers for ByteDance filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., arguing that the law was patently unconstitutional.

President Joe Biden signed the law less than two weeks ago, on April 24, as part of a package that included foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Under the law, ByteDance has nine months to sell its U.S.-based operations. Its deadline is January 19, with an additional three-month extension possible if a sale is pending.

But in its complaint, ByteDance asserts that the divestment will not be possible within the time limit, neither commercially, nor technologically, nor legally.

He also claims he is being unfairly targeted by a law that violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech.

For the first time in history, Congress has passed legislation that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent nationwide ban and prohibits every American from participating in a single online community counting more than of a billion people worldwide, the lawsuit says.

A TikTok user protests outside the US Congress on April 23, as a law was passed to force ByteDance to divest from its US operations. [Mariam Zuhaib/AP]

Although ByteDance has maintained that it has no plans to sell TikTok, its popular video-sharing app, it has said that would not even be feasible under the law.

Millions of lines of code would have to change hands, the lawsuit explains, and any potential owner would have to access ByteDances' algorithms to keep it operational, which would also be prohibited by law.

There is no doubt: The law will force TikTok to shut down by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere, the report says. trial.

TikTok has been the target of bipartisan criticism in the United States, with politicians concerned about its national security implications.

ByteDance is a Chinese technology company and its critics fear that the Chinese government could ask users for the information it collects, raising privacy concerns.

Members of the US Congress, such as Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, said the April law was therefore necessary to protect American users.

This is the only way to address the national security threat posed by ByteDance's ownership of apps like TikTok, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Instead of continuing its deceptive tactics, it is time for ByteDance to begin the divestment process.

ByteDance has long denied providing the Chinese government with information about U.S. users and has publicly pledged not to do so, dismissing such concerns as speculative.

The lawsuit also says the company spent $2 billion to protect U.S. user data and made commitments under a 90-page draft national security agreement with the U.S. government.

TikTok has been in the crosshairs of the US government for almost four years, while tensions persist between Washington and Beijing.

In 2020, for example, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the video platform, citing national security concerns.

But federal judges blocked the ban, saying authorities demonstrated they failed to consider an obvious and reasonable alternative before banning TikTok.

States have also sought to block the app, including Montana. In April 2023, Governor Greg Gianforte signed a first-of-its-kind bill, SB 419, which would fine TikTok for its activities within state lines, as well as all retail stores. applications that applied it.

But it was unclear how Montana planned to enforce the law, which was quickly challenged in court.

Montana's SB 419 was supposed to take effect on January 1, but a federal judge ultimately blocked it, handing another victory to ByteDance. The state attorney general has vowed to appeal.

Many free speech advocates predict a similar fate awaits April's federal law forcing ByteDance to spin off its U.S. operations.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Associated Press that he anticipates ByteDance will prevail in Tuesday's trial.

The First Amendment means the government cannot restrict Americans' access to ideas, information or media from abroad without a very good reason and no such reason exists here, Jaffer said in a statement .

For its part, China has taken similar measures against US-based companies like Meta, whose WhatsApp and Threads platforms were recently ordered to be removed from China-based app stores for national security issues.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/7/tiktok-owner-bytedance-files-lawsuit-against-us-law-forcing-apps-sale The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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