TikTok, ByteDance challenge potential US ban in court
TikTok
TikTok and its parent firm ByteDance on Tuesday (May 7) filed a legal challenge against the US targeting a bill signed by President Joe Biden that would push the app to either face a ban in the United States or to be sold.
The development comes almost two weeks after Biden passed a law giving the popular short-form video hosting service an ultimatum of 270 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the country.
TikTok argues that the bill signed by the US president was unconstitutional.
"For the first time in history, 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 one billion people worldwide," said the suit by TikTok and ByteDance.
The lawsuit by the firm and the short-video sharing platform alleges that the move violates the First Amendment, charging that "Congress has made a law curtailing massive amounts of protected speech."
It further stated that the divestiture demanded for the short video appfor it to be functional in the country is "simply not possible".
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The suit was filed at a federal court in Washington.
'No plans to sell TikTok'
ByteDance has stated it has no plans to sell TikTok, renouncing the lawsuit, which is expected to go to the US Supreme Court, as its sole chance to avert a ban.
"There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025," the lawsuit said, "silencing (those) who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."
Earlier, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a video response that the company isn't going anywhere.
"Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again," he said in the videoposted on X.
(With inputs from agencies)