The owner of the social media site TikTok, ByteDance, has sued the US government to overturn a bill requiring it to sell off its US holdings.
The social media giant described the measure as an “extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights” for both itself and its 170 million American users in the complaint.
It said that the US had simply raised “speculative concerns” to support the action, and it requested that the court halt it.
For TikTok, the case has existential consequences. If it loses, ByteDance may have to remove the app from US app stores unless it sells the app to a non-Chinese firm by mid-January 2025.
Less than two weeks ago, President Joe Biden signed the legislation as part of a package that also contained humanitarian help for Gaza and foreign aid to Israel and Ukraine.
TikTok and Bytedance contend that the rule is unconstitutional because it restricts Americans’ freedom of speech and keeps them from receiving legal information in their petition, which was submitted on Tuesday to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
According to the petition, in an unlawful use of congressional authority, the US government “has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning” the short-form video app.
“For the first time in history,” the petition said, “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 1 billion people worldwide.”
While parent company ByteDance has stated it has no plans to sell the company, TikTok has insisted it is not subject to government regulation.
The Chinese government has threatened to block a sale, denouncing the law as US “bullying” of a foreign company.
Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for the White House, stated that the bill was “not a ban. It is a divestment”.
