TikTok files emergency injunction to block U.S. ban, citing Constitutional violations and lack of evidence

12/11/2024 / By Belle Carter

TikTok and ByteDance have filed a motion for an emergency injunction with the U.S. Court of Appeals, aiming to block a ban on TikTok from the American market by Jan. 19, 2025.
TikTok’s legal team argues that the ban violates the First Amendment, restricting free speech and setting a precedent for government overreach.
The U.S. government, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, maintains that the ban is necessary to safeguard national security due to the risks posed by a Chinese-controlled social media platform.
TikTok contends the ban is discriminatory and lacks evidence of content manipulation or data breaches. The government argues that the risks are unique and cannot be mitigated.
TikTok and ByteDance point to the upcoming shift from President Biden to President-elect Donald Trump, who may overturn the ban, as a factor in seeking an injunction. However, the Department of Justice firmly opposed it, believing that the lower court had clearly rejected TikTok’s constitutional claims.

In a dramatic legal move, TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have filed a motion for an emergency injunction in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block the looming ban of TikTok, a wildly popular short-form video platform, from the American market.

The social media platform lost its appeal in a lower court, which upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This legislation, signed into law by outgoing President Joe Biden, essentially gives TikTok until Jan. 19, 2025, to divest from Chinese ownership or face a permanent ban in the United States. Now, TikTok is scrambling to find a lifeline in the form of a Supreme Court review while also playing the constitutional card. (Related: U.S. Court of Appeals upholds law ordering ByteDance to sell TikTok or face U.S. ban.)

TikTok’s legal team is throwing the kitchen sink at the government, arguing that the ban violates the First Amendment by restricting free speech in a way that has never been seen before. They claim that the law, which effectively shuts down one of the most popular platforms for user-generated content in the U.S., sets a dangerous precedent for government overreach.

Observers ask if this is really about protecting free speech, or is it about protecting a Chinese company’s access to a massive market. Critics argue that the First Amendment concerns are a smokescreen for the real issue: national security.

The U.S. government, represented by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is clearly not buying into TikTok’s constitutional theatrics. They argue that the ban is necessary to safeguard national security, pointing to the inherent risks posed by a social media platform controlled by a Chinese company. They highlight the potential for covert content manipulation and data collection as serious threats that the U.S. must address.

Lack of evidence and selective ban theory arguments

TikTok is also arguing that the U.S. government lacks evidence that China is manipulating TikTok’s content or that the platform is somehow more susceptible to data breaches. However, the government maintains that the real threat lies in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) potential to exploit TikTok’s vast user base. The question here is whether a lack of concrete evidence should outweigh the potential risks.

TikTok points to its robust security measures, such as storing user data and algorithms in Oracle’s U.S.-based cloud. But these assurances ring hollow in light of China’s history of cyber espionage and the known links between Chinese tech companies and the CCP. The government’s concerns are not merely speculative; they are grounded in a long history of such risks.

TikTok also argued that the ban is discriminatory and selectively targets their platform while allowing other foreign-controlled apps to flourish. This is a bit of a Hail Mary, as it seems to be an attempt to justify why the ban should be applied universally to all foreign-controlled apps, not just TikTok. However, this argument overlooks the unique threat that TikTok poses, given its massive user base in the U.S. and the Chinese government’s potential access to that data.

The government’s response is clear: TikTok’s risks are unique and cannot be mitigated by simply removing the app. This is a legitimate national security concern that warrants the targeted ban.

In their motion for an emergency injunction, TikTok and ByteDance argue that the ban will cause irreparable harm to the company and its 170 million U.S. users. They also point to the upcoming shift in the presidency, with President-elect Donald Trump set to replace Biden. Trump has previously indicated his willingness to overturn the ban, which TikTok and ByteDance see as a crucial factor in their request for an injunction.

However, the Department of Justice is not swayed. They argue that TikTok’s constitutional claims have already been “definitively rejected” by the lower court’s decision and that the public interest lies in upholding the law designed to protect national security.

Head over to Surveillance.news for more similar stories.

Watch the video below where analysts discuss whether TikTok can dodge the looming U.S. ban.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

TikTok files emergency injunction to block U.S. ban, citing Constitutional violations and lack of evidence

Lack of evidence and selective ban theory arguments

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