(MENAFN) TikTok, an online video platform, along with its Chinese parent company ByteDance, filed a legal challenge against the U.S. government on Tuesday regarding a law that mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a nationwide ban in the United States. Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill into law, following its approval by both chambers of Congress, leading to the ban on TikTok.
TikTok stated in its petition, filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, that Congress has taken an unprecedented step by specifically targeting and banning TikTok, a platform widely used by 170 million Americans for sharing and viewing videos. The company argued that this law represents the first instance in history where a single platform has been subjected to a permanent nationwide ban, affecting every American and restricting participation in a global online community of over 1 billion users.
TikTok highlighted in its petition that the law, known as the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, is unconstitutional. The company pointed out that while the law's sponsors attempted to portray it as a mere regulation of TikTok's ownership, the reality is that it effectively amounts to a ban.
Under the law, ByteDance is given 270 days to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer, with the potential for a 90-day extension if deemed necessary by the U.S. President. However, TikTok argued that this demand for a "qualified divestiture" is not feasible, both commercially and legally, making it impossible for TikTok to continue operating in the United States under these conditions.
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