KUALA LUMPUR – A group of TikTok users have filed a suit against the US government to block a law forcing the platform’s parent company ByteDance to either divest it or be banned.
The group of users filed the suit on grounds that a ban of TikTok would have a “profound effect on American life”, Reuters reports.
The plaintiffs include a Texas Marine Corps veteran, a Tennessee woman, a North Dakota college coach, a Mississippi hip hop artist and a North Carolina college graduate.
Each of them uses the short video app for specific purposes, such as to sell products, hold discussion forums and produce content advocating for certain topics.
The suit, filed at the US Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit, states that although the plaintiffs come from different backgrounds, they are “united in their view that TikTok provides them a unique and irreplaceable means to express themselves and form community”.
Last week, Chinese-owned ByteDance sued the US government over its forced divestment law, claiming it unfairly targeted TikTok while suppressing freedom of speech.
President Joe Biden’s government has held that the law addresses critical national security concerns while not violating constitutional freedoms. The law was motivated by claims among US lawmakers that China could use TikTok to access data and spy on Americans.
The law prohibits app stores like those of Apple, and Alphabet’s Google, from offering TikTok and bars internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance divests TikTok.
There are currently around 170 million TikTok users in the United States. – May 15, 2024