TikTok says Do J’s China-link says are overblown

The law places TikTok at risk in the United States.
The video app TikTok continues to fight with the United States Government, insisting that the Department of Justice is wrong about its association with China. TikTok has been fighting a law that was introduced in the United States April 24. The law threatens the social networking site. According to the law, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, must sell the platform to a different company or face being banned in 2025 due to fears that the Chinese government may monitor US users. ByteDance, in its latest legal salvo has told a federal appellate court that the U.S. DoJ went overboard with their claims of ties to China. Reuters reports that ByteDance requested the court to overturn the law on Thursday. In its filing, TikTok explained the content recommendation engine as well as U.S. users’ data are stored on Oracle cloud servers. The United States is also where content moderation for U.S. users takes place. The law also eliminates ByteDance’s free speech rights. The DoJ made a leap in logic, claiming that TikTok’s curation choices are “the speech a foreigner”, and therefore not protected by the U.S. Constitution. ByteDance responded by saying “According to the government’s logic a U.S. paper that republishes content from a foreign publication – Reuters, for instance – would not be protected under the Constitution.” ByteDance stated shortly after the law was implemented that it did not intend to sell the platform to a U.S. company or divest from the platform. The algorithms that power TikTok, and the other businesses of the company, were seen as the key issue for selling the platform. The appeals court will hear oral arguments about the legal battle on September 16.