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TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government Tuesday that claims a looming ban on the social media company is unconstitutional.
The case raises questions about the dangers of social media, national security concerns over China’s exploitation of the platform, First Amendment rights and the extent of congressional power.
TikTok, a favorite platform among young adults, urged judges to focus on free speech claims. It said the pending ban would silence the company and its users.
“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 1 billion people worldwide,” the company said in the 70-page complaint, filed in a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia.
TikTok and ByteDance, the platform’s corporate owner, said Congress gave them an impossible choice: Either sell the company or close shop within a year.
The lawsuit had been expected since President Biden signed a foreign aid spending bill last month that included the ban, officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
TikTok’s critics, including U.S. defense and intelligence community officials, say the platform is part of a Chinese scheme to interfere in U.S. politics, that it is a method to collect troves of information on American users and that the app lets Chinese operatives install nefarious software on devices.
TikTok was banned on government agency devices under a previous law citing national security concerns.
One-third of U.S. adults use TikTok, according to a Pew Research Center study in February. The platform is particularly popular with adults ages 18 to 34.
TikTok ranks fifth overall in social media platforms, up from ninth place in 2021. Pew said TikTok trails YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and ranks just ahead of LinkedIn and WhatsApp.
The looming ban is generally popular with Americans.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found 51% backed the idea of forcing TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese company, with 46% opposed. If ByteDance doesn’t sell, 53% said they would support a ban on TikTok’s use.
TikTok’s lawsuit said letting Congress ban the use of a platform over national security concerns would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to orders to shut down a newspaper or website that the government finds objectionable.
The Justice Department said it had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
The federal law enforces the TikTok ban by barring it from download on Apple and Google marketplaces.
TikTok has downplayed concerns about Chinese meddling and says it has not shared data with the government in Beijing.
It had been working on an agreement with the Biden administration to assuage national security concerns, but those talks broke down in 2022.
Among the ideas in the discussions was a requirement that all U.S. users’ data be stored in Oracle’s cloud environment, which would have access to TikTok’s source code to look for vulnerabilities.
TikTok said the administration abandoned those talks but the company is taking steps to implement them voluntarily and has spent $2 billion so far on the effort.
More broadly, TikTok has launched a massive public relations campaign to defend its market position. Ads feature everyday Americans, including small-business owners and Catholic nuns, who say TikTok has become integral to their lives.
The lawsuit delivers another major case from the internet age to courts still grappling with the implications of an always-wired world.
The Supreme Court this term is pondering cases involving state-level attempts to rein in liberal bias in social media platforms. In another case, the justices set rules in March for judges to evaluate whether an elected official’s account is a public forum or a private voice.
In its previous term, the high court ruled against parties challenging social media companies’ claims of immunity over how their algorithms select what content to promote to users. The challengers argued that the companies fueled terrorism by sharing radicalizing content with people particularly susceptible to recruitment.
Although the federal law presents unique circumstances, TikTok has won early legal rounds in a case involving a state-level ban in Montana.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy said the state’s ban violated TikTok’s First Amendment speech rights and cut off a reliable revenue stream for some of the platform’s users.
Judge Molloy said the state’s law was too blunt and its legal defense was permeated by a “pervasive undertone of anti-Chinese sentiment.”
The judge said a state’s claims may differ from those in federal cases.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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