TikTok’s legal battle against the proposed ban on the app in the US has begun.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia began hearing the petition against the US law, which mandates TikTok to sell the company in the US by January 19.
If the company is not sold within this period, Tik Tok will be banned in the US.
The law was challenged in court in May 2024 by Tik Tok and ByteDance and the first hearing was held on 16 September.
During the hearing, the company’s lawyer tried to convince the court that the US law was against free speech rights.
Andrew Pincus, a lawyer, said that the US government could not prove that TikTok is a real threat to national security. He said that this law is a violation of the US Constitution in several respects.
He added that the law before the court is unprecedented and will have far-reaching effects, marking the first time in history that Congress has targeted the freedom of speech of 170 million American citizens.
On the other hand, US Department of Justice lawyer Daniel Tenny defended the government’s position in his arguments.
He said that TikTok’s algorithm code consists of 2 billion lines, which is 40 times larger than the entire Windows operating system, and is changed 1,000 times a day, which is why we want to keep track of changes in it. are He said that this law is a big threat to American national security.
During the hearing, the judges asked Tiktok’s lawyer tough questions. He said TikTok’s arguments indicate that the company wants the court to treat Congress as an executive body rather than a legislative body.
A judge asked the lawyer how the law was different from other laws that impose various restrictions on foreign companies holding broadcast licenses.
TikTok and the Justice Department have requested a ruling on the case by December 6 so the US Supreme Court can rule on an appeal to review the ban.
It should be noted that first the House of Representatives Congress approved the bill to ban Tik Tok on April 20 and then the Senate on April 24.
After which, on April 24, US President Joe Biden signed the bill, after which this bill became a law. ByteDance filed a petition against the law in a US court in May.
While filing the petition, the company stated that it is not legal or possible to sell Tik Tok in this way. The company alleged that the US government had not engaged in any serious negotiations since 2022.
The petition said that the House of Representatives has never banned expression of opinion through any law. The US government abruptly ended negotiations with the Chinese company in August 2022, the petition said.
The company also made public a 100-plus-page draft security agreement meant to ensure the protection of US customers’ data. Tik Tok has previously won court cases against state-level bans against Tik Tok in the US.
In 2023, a federal court struck down a ban on TikTok in the state of Montana, saying it violated users’ free speech rights.
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2024-09-30 23:42:51
