TikTok sued the U.S. government to block a ban. Here’s what happens now

The
future
of
TikTok
is
more
uncertain
than
ever
after
the
social
media
company

sued
the
U.S.
government
on
Tuesday
over
a
law
that
would
force
Chinese
parent
ByteDance
to
sell
the
app
or
face
a
national
ban.

President

Joe
Biden
signed
legislation
in
April
that
gives
ByteDance
nine
months
to
find
a
buyer
for
the
popular
short-form
video
app,
and
a
three
month
extension
if
a
deal
is
in
progress.
The
Protecting
Americans
From
Foreign
Adversary
Controlled
Applications
Act,
as
it’s
known,
passed
with
bipartisan
support
in
both
chambers
of
Congress.

TikTok
argues
that
the
bill
violates
the
First
Amendment,
and
that
divestiture
is “simply
not
possible:
not
commercially,
not
technologically,
not
legally,”
according
to
the
company’s
legal
filing.

“For
the
first
time
in
history,
Congress
has
enacted
a
law
that
subjects
a
single,
named
speech
platform
to
a
permanent,
nationwide
ban,
and
bars
every
American
from
participating
in
a
unique
online
community
with
more
than
1
billion
people
worldwide,”
the
lawsuit
said.

American
lawmakers
have
long
argued
that
TikTok’s
foreign
ownership
poses
a
national
security
risk.
Former
President

Donald
Trump
attempted
to
ban
the
platform
through
an
executive
order
in
2020,
laying
out
the
path
to
a
potential
ban.
That
effort
failed,
but
the
issue
gained
resonance
as
concerns
intensified
surrounding
China’s
heightened
power
on
the
global
state.

Prior
to
the
passage
of
the
law,
TikTok
spent
more
than
$2
billion
on
an
initiative
called “Project
Texas”
to
better
protect
U.S.
user
data
from
foreign
influence.
But
lawmakers
continued
pressing
to
advance
legislation
anyway.

Whether
TikTok
is
successful
in
its
lawsuit,
filed
in
the
U.S.
Court
of
Appeals
for
the
D.C.
Circuit,
largely
hinges
on
how
the
courts
treat
the
matter.
Is
it
a
First
Amendment
issue
or
a
national
security
concern?

The
D.C.
Circuit
Court
could
agree
to
hear
the
case
on
an
expedited
timeframe,
meaning
a
completed
opinion
could
be
delivered
before
a
sale
is
required,
said
Gus
Hurwitz,
senior
fellow
and
academic
director
of
the
Center
for
Technology,
Innovation
&
Competition
at
the
University
of
Pennsylvania
Carey
Law
School.

Hurwitz
said
TikTok
and
ByteDance
will
likely
request
a
stay
of
the
law
or
a
preliminary
injunction
with
the
court,
effectively
putting
the
law
on
hold
until
a
decision
is
reached.

“If
the
court
does
not
put
such
a
stay
in
place,
I
think
that’s
a
really
bad
sign
for
TikTok
and
ByteDance,”
Hurwitz
told
CNBC
in
an
interview. “That’s
a
suggestion
that
the
court
thinks
the
law
has
a
very
strong
chance
of
being
upheld.”

TikTok
could
also
file
another
lawsuit
on
behalf
of
its
users,
which
Hurwitz
said
would
strengthen
the
company’s
First
Amendment
argument
and,
if
the
courts
view
it
under
that
lens,
make
it
harder
for
Congress
to
prevail.

“This
is
one
of
those
truly
hard
issues
on
both
sides
sort
of
cases,”
Hurwitz
said.

Gautam
Hans,
an
associate
clinical
professor
of
law
at
Cornell
Law
School,
said
courts
take
issues
of
speech
suppression
very
seriously,
but
are
also
protective
of
national
security.
He
said
the
two
priorities
infrequently
come
into
conflict.

“These
situations
are
relatively
rare,”
Hans
said
in
an
interview. “This
law
is,
to
my
understanding,
is
pretty
unprecedented.”

It’s
also
different
from
past
attempts
to
ban
TikTok
since
the
bill
has
bipartisan
support,
which
can
influence
the
courts,
Hans
said.
Regardless
of
what
happens
in
the
circuit
court,
Hans
said
there’s
a
real
possibility
the
case
ends
up
getting
elevated
to
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court.

“I
don’t
think
that
this
case
is
going
to
be
easily
resolved,”
Hans
said.

Weighing
a
sale

ByteDance
could
simplify
the
process
and
agree
to
divest
TikTok
so
that
it’s
majority
owner
is
outside
of
China.
But
the
company
has

reportedly
said
it
would
rather
close
TikTok
in
the
U.S.
than
sell
it.
TikTok
CEO
Shou
Chew
said
in
a
video
on
the
app, “Make
no
mistake:
This
is
a
ban.”

Further
complicating
a
potential
sale
is
the
issue
of
TikTok’s
algorithm,
which
is
they
key
piece
of
technology
that
allows
the
app
to
make
recommendations
to
users.
China
would
likely
have
to
approve
the
transfer
of
the
algorithm,
a
move
that
experts
don’t
see
happening.

“It’s
kind
of
like
you’re
selling
the
house,
but
you
take
out
all
the
windows
and
doors
and
who’s
gonna
buy
it?”
Hans
said.

Still,
there
are
some
interested
acquirers.

Former
Treasury
Secretary
Steven
Mnuchin

told
CNBC’s
David
Faber
on
Tuesday
he
is
still “very
interested”
in
buying
or
investing
in
TikTok.
He
said
that,
even
without
the
algorithm,
the
platform
could
probably
be
rebuilt
within
a
year.
But
he
said
it
would
be
a
much
more
difficult
deal
if
TikTok
were
to
spend
six
months
of
that
period
litigating.

“The
best
outcome
would
be
if
they’d
agree
to
do
a
deal
now
and
you’d
have
a
year
to
rebuild
the
technology,
which
I
think
would
be
a
major
effort
but
could
be
done,” Mnuchin
said.

As
of
now,
TikTok
can
continue
to
operate.
Hurwitz
said
the
company
is
showing
little
inclination
to
sell
or
or
stop
doing
business
in
the
U.S.
until
the
last
possible
minute.

“This
is
going
to
be
a
while,”
he
said.

WATCH:

Here’s
what
to
know
about
TikTok
lawsuit