The lawyer for TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance issued a warning during arguments before the United States Supreme Court about a law that requires the sale of the short video app under penalty of banning it in the United States: if Congress could do that with TikTok, it could go after other companies as well.
The law, which was the subject of arguments before the nine-justice US Supreme Court on Friday, sets a January 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell the popular social media platform or face a ban on national security grounds. The companies sought, at a minimum, a delay in implementing the law, which they say violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government restriction of free speech.
Noel Francisco, representing TikTok and ByteDance, argued that the Supreme Court’s endorsement of this law could allow statutes targeting other companies for similar reasons.
“AMC theaters used to be owned by a Chinese company. Under this theory, Congress could order AMC theaters to censor any films Congress doesn’t like or promote any films Congress wants,” Francisco told the justices.
The justices signaled through their questions during arguments that they were inclined to uphold the law, although some expressed serious concerns about its First Amendment implications.
TikTok is a platform used by around 170 million people in the United States, approximately half of the country’s population. Congress passed the measure last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, as lawmakers cited the risk of the Chinese government exploiting TikTok to spy on Americans and conduct covert influence operations.
Jeffrey Fisher, the lawyer representing TikTok content creators who also challenged the law, noted during arguments before the Supreme Court that Congress with this measure was focusing on TikTok and not major Chinese online retailers, including Temu.
“Would a Congress (that is) really concerned about these very dramatic risks leave out an e-commerce site like Temu that has 70 million Americans using it?” Fisher asked. “It’s very curious why you only highlight TikTok and not other companies with tens of millions of people having their own data collected, you know, in the process of engaging with these sites and equally, if not more, available to Chinese control. ”
The current US president, Democrat Joe Biden, sanctioned the measure and his government is defending it in this case before the Supreme Court. The deadline for the sale of Tik Tok passes just one day before Republican Donald Trump, who opposes the ban, takes office as Biden’s successor.
This content was originally published on TikTok warns of consequences if the US Supreme Court allows a ban on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
