July 26 (Reuters) – The Justice Department asked a U.S. appeals court to reject legal challenges to a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19. The USDOJ TikTok challenge emphasizes that failure to comply could result in a ban. #USDOJTikTokChallenge
TikTok and parent company ByteDance and a group of TikTok creators have filed suits to block the law that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans.
The Justice Department will detail wide-ranging national security concerns about ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok.
The government is also filing a classified document with the court that will detail additional security concerns about ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok as well as declarations from the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Justice Department’s National Security Division, a senior official said.
The Justice Department will argue TikTok under Chinese ownership poses a serious national security threat to Americans because of its access to vast personal data of Americans and will argue China can covertly manipulate information that Americans consume via TikTok, a Justice Department official said.
Signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, the law gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. The White House says it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds, but not a ban on TikTok. #USDOJTikTokChallenge
They stress the importance of enforcing these regulations. Thus, the USDOJ TikTok challenge underscores the government’s commitment to security.
