TikTok is challenging the US sell-or-ban law in court

TikTok said in court on Monday that the US law, which could lead to its ban if ByteDance does not sell TikTok, would have a “tremendous” impact on the freedom of speech of American users. The law was passed due to concerns that the data of TikTok users in the US could be used by the Chinese government. TikTok and ByteDance have repeatedly denied ties to Chinese authorities. The BBC writes about it, transmits it UNN.

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In May, the companies sued to block the legislation, calling it unconstitutional and effectively restricting the free speech of TikTok’s 170 million US users. On Monday, TikTok’s arguments were heard by a three-judge panel at the Washington Court of Appeals.

Lawyer Tiffany Cianchi said that the use of the platform by politicians ahead of the 2024 presidential election looks “hypocritical” and calls into question the validity of security concerns. “If it was dangerous, they wouldn’t be there,” she added.

US Department of Justice attorney Daniel Tenney objected to TikTok’s defense, arguing that the platform’s code is based in the US.

“There is no doubt that the recommendation algorithm is supported, developed and written by ByteDance, not TikTok in the US,” he said. “This is not an expression of Americans in the US – it is an expression of Chinese engineers in China.”

Concerns have also been raised that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to spread propaganda in the US. However, defenders of free speech in the United States, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, say that supporting the “sell or ban” law will be a gift to authoritarian regimes around the world.

Xiangnun Wang, a lawyer at Columbia University’s First Amendment Institute, said repressive regimes could use this precedent to justify new restrictions on their citizens’ access to information and media from abroad.

James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said the law was designed to withstand judicial scrutiny. “The main arguments against TikTok are very strong,” he said. “The key question is whether the court will accept that the sale requirement does not regulate freedom of speech.”

Regardless of the appeals court’s decision, experts say the case could drag on for months, if not longer, and possibly reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

TikTok and ByteDance attorney Andrew Pincus told the court that the law imposes an extraordinary restriction on free speech based on uncertain future risks. He also emphasized that TikTok “does not belong” to China, but is owned by ByteDance Limited, a company in the Cayman Islands. However, Justice Sri Srinivasan responded that the company was “subject to Chinese control”.

TikTok’s lawyers say the U.S. government has not charged the company with any wrongdoing, and the punishment is being applied based on the assumption of possible problems in the future. Justice Ginsberg emphasized that the law imposes an “absolute ban on the current management of the company,” not the company itself, and is aimed at a group of companies controlled by a so-called foreign adversary, not just TikTok.

Lawyer Jeffrey Fisher, who represents content creators on the platform, expressed concern that the law could limit their constitutional right to work with a publisher of their choice, such as TikTok under its current owner.

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