Judges show some skepticism of TikTok’s fight against potential US ban
A panel of federal judges made pointed remarks Monday that called TikTok’s legal arguments into question in a landmark case that could determine whether the Chinese-owned video app survives in the country.
The hearing, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, lasted roughly two hours. Three judges asked probing questions of both TikTok and the government about an April law that forces ByteDance, the app’s owner, to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company before Jan. 19 or face a ban in the United States. The lawyers have asked the judges to deliver a decision in the case before Dec. 6, and legal experts anticipate the losing party will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Two of the judges expressed some skepticism around TikTok’s arguments that Congress lacks the authority to pass such a law, and its defense that it was being unfairly singled out. Neomi Rao, one of the judges, said the company’s legal position relied on “a very strange framework for thinking about” congressional authority.
Two judges also pressed the government on how a ban might infringe on the First Amendment rights of TikTok’s U.S. operation and those of users, and how it would justify that.
American lawmakers and intelligence officials have argued that TikTok is a national security threat under ByteDance. They say its ownership means the Chinese government could use the app to retrieve sensitive information about Americans or to spread propaganda. The government has not offered evidence that TikTok has made content decisions in the U.S. at the behest of China.
ByteDance and TikTok, along with a group of TikTok creators, sued to block the law in May, arguing it was an unjustified violation of Americans’ rights to free speech. They say that a sale is impossible, in part because the Chinese government may restrict the export of TikTok’s recommendation engine. They have also argued that the U.S. could impose less restrictive measures on the company to address its national security concerns.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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