On Monday, TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will fight a legal battle to overturn a law that may block its app from the 170 million American users.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will discuss the app. The court will focus on the fate of the Chinese-owned platform in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are active on the app as they aim to court younger voters.
According to TikTok and ByteDance, the law is unconstitutional as it violates Americans’ free speech rights. They added that it is a significant departure from the US’ progressive tradition of an open Internet.
Concerns from US lawmakers sparked about China gaining access to Americans via the app. Furthermore, the measure was passed in the US Congress a few weeks after being laid out.
Moreover, ByteDance mentioned that a divestiture is not legally or technologically possible. Also, without a court ruling, it will result in an unprecedented ban on TikTok on January 19.
On the other hand, President Joe Biden signed a law in April that will give ByteDance time to sell the app or face the ban. However, the deadline can be extended by three months if he can confirm that the Chinese firm is progressing toward a sale.
US TikTok Ban Decides App’s Fate
TikTok fights on a case that seeks to ban its US platform unless ByteDance sells it within nine months.
In April, President Biden signed the law, driven by worries about Americans’ data vulnerability to Chinese exploitation. Meanwhile, TikTok and its parent company denied the claims, describing the law as an extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights.
Company representatives and some channel content creators defended the entity, saying that they rely on the app to market their products and generate income.
