This week, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill requiring ByteDance Ltd., the parent company of viral video app TikTok, to sell the platform in less than a year or face a ban in the United States, laying the groundwork for an anticipated legal contest.
The imposed ban responds to fears that the Chinese government might use the app’s potent algorithm to disseminate propaganda to TikTok’s reported 170 million US users or gain access to sensitive user data. This comes after an inquiry initiated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in 2019 led to four years of unfruitful negotiations.
TikTok now has fewer than 270 days to negotiate a sale to an authorized buyer before the app is banned by the Biden administration. If the company intends to dispute the new law, a legal challenge must be filed directly to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In a Tuesday news release, a TikTok representative expressed the firm’s intent to challenge the law in court, firmly asserting, “the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.”
Following this development, ByteDance’s US-based general counsel Erich Andersen transitioned from his role to serve as special counsel, concentrating on efforts to repeal the ban, as stated by the company.
TikTok’s legal challenge is likely to reiterate First Amendment claims it has previously used, particularly concerning a statewide ban in Montana. TikTok can, and likely will, argue that the newly enacted law unjustly targets the app and its users, violating their right to free speech.
Supporting TikTok’s free speech claims, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the American Civil Liberties Union have dubbed the forced-sale law unconstitutional. The ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation also stepped forward in the Montana case by filing a friend-of-the-court brief.
ByteDance and TikTok have professed their unwavering belief in their eventual victory in the courtroom, however, if the Biden administration prevails, ByteDance might need to entertain some complex alternatives.