TikTok, a popular video-sharing app owned by Chinese company Bytedance, has filed a lawsuit against the US government in an effort to block a law that would ban the app in the United States. The lawsuit was filed with the US Court of Appeals on Tuesday, citing concerns that the law violates the US Constitution, specifically the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech.
The TikTok ban law, also known as the TikTok Act, was passed by the US Congress at the end of April and signed by President Joe Biden as part of a larger aid package to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. The law gives Bytedance until January 19 of next year to sell TikTok’s operations in the United States or else the app will be banned from Apple and Google app stores in the country.
Bytedance and TikTok argue that selling operations within the deadline is not possible and that the law will effectively force them to shut down in 2025, silencing 170 million Americans who use it for communication. The companies are seeking a ruling from an appeals court to prevent enforcement of the law by US Department of Justice and this may escalate all way to US Supreme Court. They have indicated that they have no plans to find a buyer for TikTok’s US operations within
