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TikTok and its owner ByteDance officially sued the federal government on Tuesday (May 7) to block the law signed by President Biden that could see the app being banned.
The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with the Chinese-owned company saying the ‘Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ is unconstitutional.
TikTok is the video-focused social media platform that has come under fire over the last year, as concerns around US security have risen. On April 24, Biden signed the law that gives ByteDance until January 19 to either sell the app or face a ban.
Within the lawsuit, the social media platform company alleges the law will result in “silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platforms to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”
The petitioners say “there is no choice” as the qualified divestiture required by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the States “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.”
“And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act.”
The team says even if a ‘qualified divestiture’ were feasible, “the Act would still be an extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power.
“If upheld, it would allow the government to decide that a company may no longer own and publish the innovative and unique speech platform it created.”
Time is ticking for the platform used by millions
The future of TikTok in the U.S. has been voted on over the last few months, with the United States Senate passing the bill that requires them to divest or face a ban on American shores on April 24.
In May, the Chinese owners were hit with a lawsuit from lawyers alleging TikTok offers safety features in some countries and not others.
In response, legal representatives for ByteDance countered that “those services were developed for use in other countries and are subject to different laws and regulations, reflecting those countries’ different cultures and priorities.”
Featured Image: Via Ideogram
