By Jody Godoy
(Reuters) – TikTok instructed a federal appeals court docket on Thursday that the U.S. Division of Justice has misstated the social media app’s ties to China, urging the court docket to overturn a legislation requiring China-based ByteDance to promote TikTok’s U.S. property or face a ban.
TikTok, which has sued to overturn the legislation, mentioned the Justice Division has made factual errors within the case. The division’s attorneys mentioned final month that the app poses a nationwide safety threat by permitting the Chinese language authorities to gather the info of Individuals and covertly manipulate what content material they see.
TikTok mentioned on Thursday it’s undisputed that the app’s content material suggestion engine and consumer knowledge are saved within the U.S. on cloud servers operated by Oracle (NYSE:) and that content material moderation choices that have an effect on U.S. customers are made within the U.S.
Signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, the legislation offers ByteDance till Jan. 19 to promote TikTok or face a ban. The White Home says it needs to see Chinese language-based possession ended on nationwide safety grounds, however not a ban on TikTok.
The appeals court docket will maintain oral arguments on the authorized problem on Sept. 16, placing the problem of TikTok’s destiny into the ultimate weeks of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has joined TikTok and mentioned in June he would by no means assist a TikTok ban.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, joined TikTok in July and leaned in to social media as a part of her marketing campaign technique.
TikTok argued on Thursday that the legislation would strip the corporate of its free-speech rights, arguing in opposition to the Justice Division’s declare that the quick video app’s content material curation choices are “the speech of a foreigner” and never protected by the U.S. Structure.
“By the government’s logic, a U.S. newspaper that republishes the content of a foreign publication – Reuters, for example – would lack constitutional protection,” the corporate mentioned.
The legislation prohibits app shops like Apple (NASDAQ:), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s Google, from providing TikTok and bars web internet hosting providers from supporting TikTok until it’s divested by ByteDance.
Pushed by worries amongst U.S. lawmakers that China may entry knowledge on Individuals or spy on them with the app, Congress overwhelmingly handed the measure simply weeks after it was launched.
