In an attempt to thwart a bill that would require TikTok to sell the app or risk being banned in the US, the Justice Department responded to the company’s civil lawsuit late on Friday.
In a federal court suit filed in Washington, TikTok claims that the law infringes on its First Amendment right to free speech.
In response, the US says that TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance cannot use its First Amendment rights in this country because the statute deals with national security issues rather than expression.
Senior Justice Department sources stated in a briefing that the filing outlines worries that ByteDance may and would comply with Chinese government demands for data about US users or give in to pressure to censor or promote content on the site.
“According to a top justice department official, the purpose of this regulation is to guarantee that everyone may use the platform safely, regardless of age.
Additionally, they should utilize it with confidence that the Chinese government is not controlling or censoring what they view or that their data will not eventually be returned to them.
The reply contends that the legislation is outside the purview of the First Amendment because it concentrates on TikTok’s foreign ownership.
According to sources in the justice department, US intelligence services are worried that China may “weaponize” mobile apps.
It’s evident that the Chinese government has been actively seeking huge, organized databases about Americans using a variety of techniques for years.
including harmful cyber activities; including efforts to buy that data from data brokers and others, and including efforts to construct powerful AI models that can leverage that data,” a senior justice department official said.
TikTok has claimed the desired divestiture is “simply not possible” – and not on the timescale required.
The law approved by President Joe Biden early this year set a mid-January 2025 deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban.
The White House can extend the deadline by 90 days.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than one billion people globally,” the TikTok and ByteDance lawsuit stated.
Is TikTok shutting down?
ByteDance’s sole chance to prevent a ban is to proceed with the litigation, which is expected to reach the US Supreme Court, since the company has stated that it has no plans to sell TikTok.
“There is no doubt that the Act will silence (those) who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere and force TikTok to shut down by January 19, 2025,” the lawsuit stated.
The administration of former president Donald Trump initially targeted TikTok and made vain attempts to outlaw it.
The legal process stalled the endeavor when a federal judge temporarily halted Trump’s efforts, stating that the reasons for the app’s prohibition were probably exaggerated and that free speech rights were threatened.
The goal of Biden’s new initiative was to avoid the same legal pitfalls, and some experts think the US Supreme Court may be willing to grant national security concerns precedence over the right to free expression.
According to a senior justice department official, “we view the statute as a game changer from the arguments that were in play back in 2020.”
Even if ByteDance granted the request, there is a good chance that no buyer would show up to take TikTok.