On Tuesday, lawyers for ByteDance filed the complaint in the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, arguing the law was “obviously unconstitutional”.
US President Joe Biden signed the law on April 24, as part of a package that included foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as humanitarian relief for Gaza.
Under the law, ByteDance have nine months to sell off their US-based operations. The deadline given is January 19, with an additional three-month extension possible should a sale be in progress.
But in their suit, ByteDance argue divestment will not be possible within the timeframe allotted – “not commercially, not technologically, not legally”.
They also argue they are being unfairly targeted by a law that violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech.
“For the first time in history, Congress have 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”, the lawsuit reads.
While ByteDance maintained they have no plans to sell TikTok, their vastly popular video-sharing app, they said that doing so would not even be feasible under the law.
Millions of lines of code would have to shift hands, the lawsuit explained, and any prospective owners would have to access ByteDance’s algorithms to keep it operational – something that would also be barred under the law.
“There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere”, the lawsuit said.
Note: TikTok has been in the US government’s crosshairs for nearly four years, as tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing.
No comments:
Post a Comment