TikTok challenges US allegations on China links in court appeal

The Chinese firm TikTok argued in a federal appeals court on Thursday that the US Department of Justice overstated the social media app's ties to China, urging it to throw out a law necessitating China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets or face a ban.

TikTok, which has sued to overturn the law, said the Justice Department has gotten the facts wrong in the case. Department attorneys argued that the app is a national security threat because the Chinese government can collect data on Americans and covertly manipulate the content they see.

TikTok said on Thursday that it is undisputed that the app's content recommendation engine and user data are stored in US cloud servers operated by Oracle and moderation on the content that would affect US users are made in the US.

The law allows ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok—with the alternative facing a ban—was signed by President Joe Biden on April 24. The White House said they wanted an end to Chinese-based ownership on the grounds of national security but did not want to put in place a total ban on TikTok.

The appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the legal fight on Sept. 16, thrusting the issue of TikTok's fate deep into the final weeks of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Developments in the case come after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump joined TikTok, saying in June he would never support a TikTok ban.

In July, Democratic Presidential Candidate Vice President Kamala Harris joined TikTok and dialled up social media as part of her campaign strategy.

TikTok countered Thursday that the law would divest it of its free-speech right, countering the Justice Department's contention that the content curation decisions of the short video app are "speech of a foreigner" and not protected by the US Constitution.

"By the government's logic, a U.S. newspaper that republishes the content of a foreign publication - Reuters, for example - would lack constitutional protection," the company said.

The law blocks Apple, Alphabet's Google, etc., from offering TikTok and prohibits internet hosting services from providing its back-end services to TikTok unless it is divested by ByteDance.

Fueled by fears in Congress that China might use the app to collect data on Americans or even spy on them, the measure passed overwhelmingly just weeks after itsintroduction.