TikTok vowed a court challenge Wednesday to a new law signed by President Joe Biden that could result in the popular video streaming app being banned in the United States.


What You Need To Know

  • TikTok vowed a court challenge Wednesday to a new law signed by President Joe Biden that could result in the popular video streaming app being banned in the United States

  • In a statement, the social media company called the law “unconstitutional"

  • The new law requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sell the company to an American buyer in the next year or see the app banned in the U.S.

  • Lawmakers who supported the legislation argue ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, creating national security concerns about TikTok and its collection of user data

In a statement, the social media company called the law “unconstitutional.”

“We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail,” the company said in a statement. 

The new law, including in a $95 billion foreign aid package passed by Congress and signed by Biden on Wednesday, requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sell the company to an American buyer in the next year or see the app banned in the U.S. The sale must be arranged in nine months, with Biden having the option to extend the deadline by 90 days if sufficient progress on a sale has been made. 

Lawmakers who supported the legislation argue ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, creating national security concerns about TikTok and its collection of user data.

In a video posted Wednesday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said, “Make no mistake: This is a ban.”

“A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” he said. “Politicians may say otherwise, but don't get confused. Many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is their ultimate goal.”

He added that the U.S. effort is “ironic because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”

“Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere,” Chew said. “We are confident, and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted last week the Biden administration does not view the bill as a TikTok ban.

“We see this as a divestment, not a ban,” she said. “And it is important.  This is another piece of our national security and protecting our national security, protecting American people … making sure that they don't get exploited and that harm could be done.”

TikTok says it has has invested billions of dollars to protect U.S. data and that its platform is free from outside influence and manipulation.

But U.S. lawmakers are not buying that. The House passed the measure 360-58. The Senate approved the larger foreign aid bill 79-18.

“It means the ball is in TikTok's court: TikTok can choose to separate from CCP-controlled ByteDance OR face prohibition in the U.S,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter. “The choice is theirs.” 

McMorris Rodgers chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee that approved an earlier version of the bill.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., posted on X: “As it stands, China is effectively flying a spy balloon in the home of every TikTok user and spreading this digital fentanyl to our young people. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Chinese Communist Party knows that if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America.”

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