TikTok "ban bill" heads to court
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Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
TikTok on Monday will make its case in court against a bill that would require it to be divested by its Chinese parent company, Bytedance, or else risk a nationwide ban.
Why it matters: TikTok is one of America's largest social media platforms, and Bytedance is the world's most valuable startup.
- There have been many contingency plans proposed, including by some of Bytedance's venture capital backers, but none known to have been adopted.
- And all of it might be academic, since the Chinese government seems unlikely to permit any divestment being forced by the U.S. government.
Zoom in: TikTok will argue that the law violates Americans' free speech rights, and that the divestiture requirements aren't "viable" due to timing and complexity.
- It also will claim that the legislation was sparked by national security concerns that the company was sufficiently addressing via its work with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), but that the process got bogged down by politics.
- DOJ lawyers, on the other hand, will argue that the law is about national security, not free speech, and that divestment is the only reasonable resolution.
The intrigue: Lots of information in the DOJ's filings is redacted classified material, available to the judicial panel but not to TikTok. In other words, TikTok's lawyers are flying more than a bit blind.
- Also worth emphasizing that the judicial panel consists of three judges, with an average age of 62. Not exactly that "jury of your users" that TikTok might have preferred.
Political impact: The case isn't expected to be decided until after November's election.
- Former President Trump has said he opposes the divest-or-ban bill, even though it was supported by Republicans in Congress and Trump himself tried to ban TikTok via an executive order while in office.
- Vice President Harris is part of the administration that signed the bill into law, but her campaign didn't respond to an Axios question on if she still supports it.
- Both campaigns have TikTok accounts.
Look ahead: Don't be surprised if the loser appeals to the Supreme Court.
