TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, stated that the company anticipates prevailing in its legal challenge against new legislation signed by President Joe Biden.
The law mandates that ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, divest its U.S. operations within 270 days or face a ban.
In a video message responding to the law, Chew said, “Rest assured we aren’t going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”
The U.S. lawmakers claimed that the app could allow China to access or surveil American users’ data. The bill received approval from the U.S. Senate late Tuesday and passed by the House of Representatives the following Saturday.
The legislation shifted Washington and Beijing’s ongoing technological and internet governance battle to another level. Notably, China instructed Apple to remove Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its Chinese App Store last week due to national security concerns.
Chew declared, “Make no mistake, this is a ban on TikTok,” signalling the company’s intent to challenge the bill based on First Amendment rights. TikTok users are also expected to pursue legal action, similar to past instances where such bans were contested. In November, a U.S. judge in Montana overturned a state TikTok ban, citing free speech protections.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concerns that enforcing a ban or divestiture of TikTok could establish a troubling precedent for excessive government control over social media platforms.
Legal experts suggest that the new legislation might provide the Biden administration with a more substantial basis to enforce the ban if ByteDance does not comply with the divestiture requirement. Failure to divest would mean app stores operated by Apple and Google could not legally host TikTok or offer web hosting services for ByteDance-controlled applications or TikTok’s website.
