TikTok Appeals US DOJ's China Ties Claims, Cites ByteDance Sale Law

Aug 16, 2024, 09:28 AM

On August 15, TikTok filed an appeal in a U.S. federal court in Washington, challenging the Department of Justice's assertions about its connections to China. The social media platform argues that the DOJ has misstated its ties to its China-based parent company, ByteDance, and has made factual errors in the case. TikTok claims that the law requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban infringes on its free speech rights. The company compares itself to foreign-owned American media outlets, asserting that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the U.S. under Oracle's protection. TikTok also argues that the platform is shielded by the First Amendment, countering U.S. government claims to the contrary. Additionally, TikTok claims the Biden-Harris administration has no evidence of the platform being a security risk.