TikTok challenges US law in court regarding its sale, ban

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are facing a pivotal court session on Monday in a legal battle over a law that could ban the app, which is used by 170 million Americans, starting January 19.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral arguments on the challenge to the law, placing TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, at the center of the final weeks of the 2024 US presidential election, according to Reuters.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris are both active on TikTok, aiming to engage younger voters.

TikTok and ByteDance argue that the law is unconstitutional and infringes on Americans’ freedom of speech, describing it as a “radical departure from the country’s tradition of supporting an open internet.”

ByteDance claims that removing the app is “technologically, commercially, and legally impossible,” and that without a court ruling, the ban will take effect on January 19.

Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao, and Douglas Ginsburg will review the legal challenges.

TikTok and the Department of Justice have requested a ruling by December 6, potentially allowing the Supreme Court to intervene before the ban takes effect.

US President Joe Biden signed the law in April, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban, with the possibility of extending the deadline by three months if progress toward a sale is confirmed.

The White House and supporters of the law argue that it challenges TikTok’s Chinese ownership rather than targeting the app itself.