16.09.2024. / 15:11
WASHINGTON — TikTok will begin arguing on Monday against legislation that would ban it in the U.S. unless Chinese owner BiteDance sells the social media app within nine months.
PHOTO: Pixabay
The measure, signed by President Biden in April, was prompted by concerns that US users’ data is vulnerable to exploitation by the Chinese government, the BBC reports.
TikTok and BiteDance have always denied ties to Chinese authorities and described the law as an “extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights”. The company, which claims to have more than 170 million US users, will present its arguments before a three-member panel at the appeals court in Washington.
The company’s representatives will be joined by eight TikTok creators, including a rancher from Texas and a baker from Tennessee, who say they rely on the platform to market their products and make a living.
Lawyers from the Department of Justice (DoJ) will then proceed to present their case.
In addition to data concerns, Justice Department officials and lawmakers have expressed concern about the possibility that the Chinese government is using TikTok to spread propaganda to Americans.
But advocates of America’s powerful free-speech rights, enshrined in the US Constitution’s First Amendment, say upholding confiscation or banning laws would be a gift to authoritarian regimes everywhere.
“We should not be surprised if repressive governments around the world cite this precedent to justify new restrictions on their citizens’ rights to access information, ideas and media from abroad.”said Xiangnong Wang, an attorney at Columbia University Knight First. Amendment Institute.
Wang also criticized lawmakers for being vague about the specific national security threats they say TikTok poses.
“We can think of no prior case in which such a broad limitation of First Amendment rights has been found constitutional on the basis of nondisclosure evidence.”he said.
However, according to James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the law was drafted to withstand judicial scrutiny.
“The substance of the case against TikTok is very strong”Luis said.
The key issue is whether the court accepts that the claim for confiscation of property does not regulate speech.
Lewis added that the courts usually defer to the president in matters of national security.
Regardless of how the appeals court rules, most experts agree that the case could drag on for months, if not longer.
“Nothing will be solved next week”, said Mike Proulk, vice president and director of research at analyst firm Forrester.
This is a high stakes and very complicated conundrum that will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Source: www.capital.ba
