2024-09-17 10:02:34
TikTok tried, Monday, September 16, to convince a US federal court of the illegality of the law that forced its Chinese owner to sell, in the eyes of the judges.
Since this issue was voted on by the United States Congress in April, the fate of the social network, accused of allowing Chinese authorities to arbitrarily collect the data of American users, has become an important issue in the political debate. The law, announced by President Joe Biden, provides that if the parent company ByteDance does not sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, the platform will be banned in the United States.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, for his part, opposed any ban on the very popular platform, after he tried to ban it in 2020, at the end of his term.
Freedom of expression under debate
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has clarified that it has no plans to sell its valuable app. Going to court is therefore your only option to survive in the United States.
“This rule was previously unknown”confirmed, in the opening, the lawyer of TikTok, Andrew Pincus. “For the first time, Congress targets an American citizen”he added, referring to TikTok USA, the group’s subsidiary in the United States. This last argument did not seem to convince the judges, who remembered that the group had a Chinese majority shareholder and referred to numerous case laws for previously banned groups or organizations.
The District of Columbia judges also asked US Justice Department attorney Daniel Tenny about whether banning the platform violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees free speech. The latter responded that TikTok is controlled by a Chinese company, the protection of freedom of expression as defined by American law cannot apply to it.
“After listening to the initial arguments, I am convinced that this case will reach the Supreme Court”commented Sarah Kreps, professor at Cornell University, cited by Agence France-Presse. “Judges seem to be skeptical of TikTok’s argumentshe noted. But they also raise important questions about the First Amendment and foreign influence (…) to which no definitive answers have been provided. »
“an empty shell”
TikTok says that “The law is on our side”adding that the law will kill the voices of 170 million Americans. “There is no doubt that the law will lead to the shutdown of TikTok on January 19, 2025”argued the company in its appeal, “lie those who use the platform to communicate in a way that is not possible elsewhere”. TikTok also argued that, even if change is possible, the app “will always be reduced to an empty shell, lacking innovative technology that adapts content to each user”.
The US government denies that the law concerns matters of national security and not freedom of expression and that ByteDance cannot exercise its own rights protected by law. The United States believes that ByteDance may have to comply with requests from the Chinese government to collect data on American users. American authorities also said that the group conceded to pressure to censor or promote certain content on the platform. TikTok denies these allegations.
The 2020 executive order to ban former President Donald Trump’s TikTok was blocked by a federal judge, who cited probable cause and a violation of the right to free speech. Since then, the Republican, very angry with Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and other platforms that temporarily banned him for violence following the attack on the Capitol in 2021, has changed his position. “For everyone who wants to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump”he announced in a video weekly issue.
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