TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, filed a lawsuit in federal court in the United States on Tuesday, seeking to overturn a bill signed by President Joe Biden that would require it to sell or be banned.
The company filed its action in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming that the statute violates the US Constitution for various reasons, including violating First Amendment free speech rights.
Biden signed the measure on April 24, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or risk a ban.
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The complaint stated that the divestment "is simply not possible: not commercially, technologically, or legally." There is little doubt that the Act (law) will compel the shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be reproduced elsewhere."
The White House has stated that it wants to restrict Chinese ownership on national security reasons, but not a ban on TikTok. The White House and the Justice Department have declined to comment on the case.
The complaint is TikTok's latest attempt to stay ahead of efforts to shut it down in the United States. Firms such as Snap and Meta are trying to capitalize on TikTok's political uncertainties to steal advertising money from their rivals.
Driven by concerns among US senators that China may use the app to acquire data on Americans or spy on them, the bill was passed by Congress overwhelmingly only weeks after it was presented. TikTok has denied sharing U.S. user data and accuses American politicians of raising "speculative" fears in the case.
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