Written by David Shepherdson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance on Tuesday sought an injunction against a bill signed by President Joe Biden that would force them to sell or ban the short video app used by 170 million Americans. filed suit in US federal court.
The companies filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, alleging that the law violates the U.S. Constitution for a variety of reasons, including violating the First Amendment's free speech protections. Ta. The law, signed by Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single designated speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the companies said in their lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the sale is “commercially, technically and legally impossible, and is simply impossible… would force TikTok to shut down and silence 170 million Americans.” These are people who are using this platform to communicate in ways that can't be replicated anywhere else. ”
The White House has said it wants to end China-based ownership on national security grounds, but does not want to ban TikTok. The White House and Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is TikTok's latest move to pre-empt efforts to shut down TikTok in the U.S. as companies such as Snap and Meta seek to exploit TikTok's political uncertainty to steal ad dollars from rivals. be.
Driven by concerns from U.S. lawmakers that China could access Americans' data or use the app to spy on Americans, the bill passed overwhelmingly in Congress just weeks after its introduction. It was passed by a majority. TikTok denies it has ever shared or will ever share U.S. user data and accused U.S. lawmakers in the lawsuit of fomenting “speculative” concerns.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House Committee on China, said the bill is “the only way to address the national security threat posed by ByteDance's ownership of apps like TikTok.” Ta.
“Instead of continuing with deceptive tactics, the time has come for ByteDance to begin the divestiture process,” he said.
The law would ban app stores like Apple and Alphabet Inc.'s Google from offering TikTok, and bar internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance sells TikTok by Jan. 19. are doing.
The complaint said the Chinese government “has made clear that it will not allow the sale of its recommendation engine, which is key to TikTok's success in the United States.” The companies are asking the D.C. Circuit to block Attorney General Merrick Garland from enforcing the law, arguing that the “prospect of injunctive relief” is warranted.
According to the complaint, 58% of ByteDance's stock is owned by global institutional investors including BlackRock, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group, 21% is owned by the company's Chinese founders, and 21% is owned by the company's Chinese founders. % owned by its employees, including approximately 7,000 Americans.
Tensions around the internet and technology
The four-year battle over TikTok has become a key front in the U.S.-China conflict over the internet and technology. Apple announced in April that China had ordered Meta Platforms' WhatsApp and Threads to be removed from China's App Store, citing China's national security concerns.
According to the complaint, TikTok has spent $2 billion to take steps to protect U.S. users' data, adding to the 90-page draft national security agreement developed through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It is said that he made a promise.
The deal included agreeing to a “shutdown option” that would give the U.S. government the power to suspend TikTok in the United States if it violates certain obligations, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, CFIUS ceased meaningful discussions on the agreement in August 2022, and in March 2023, CFIUS “argued that ByteDance was required to sell its U.S. TikTok operations.” CFIUS is an interagency committee chaired by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that reviews foreign investments in U.S. companies and real estate related to national security concerns.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat (a division of Tencent) in the United States, but was blocked by a court. Trump, the Republican candidate to challenge Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, has since reversed course, saying he does not support the ban but that security concerns need to be addressed.
Biden could extend the Jan. 19 deadline by three months if he deems ByteDance is making progress. The lawsuit said the fact that Biden's presidential campaign continues to use TikTok “undermines the argument that the platform poses a real threat to the American public.” The Trump campaign does not use TikTok.
Many experts question whether potential buyers have the wherewithal to acquire TikTok and whether Chinese and U.S. government agencies will approve the sale.
According to the complaint, moving TikTok's source code to the United States “would take years for completely new engineers to become fully familiarized.”
(Reporting by David Shepherdson; Editing by Will Dunham and Deepa Babington)