TikTok risks federal ban by not seeking divestment, official warns

At a court hearing on Monday, TikTok challenged a law requiring the US unit to be sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19 or be banned. The government has warned of national security risks and Beijing’s potential to influence content on the social media platform.

Lawyers for TikTok told a panel of judges at the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC that a sale would be impossible and that the law violates the right to free speech. The judges, however, seemed skeptical about whether the platform has the right to display and moderate content with the same freedom as a US company, while its parent company is based in China.

The impasse could mean TikTok’s 170 million US users are locked out, although a ban is likely to be suspended amid further legal challenges.

“TikTok is headed for a total federal ban as a direct result of its failure to pursue an orderly divestment,” Jacob Helberg, commissioner of the US-China Commission, wrote on X Friday.

He later posted: “All they have to do is give in and all their legal problems go away (sic).”

When asked for comment, a TikTok spokesperson pointed to its court filing, which claims the law doesn’t actually offer a choice between forfeiture or ban.

The “qualified divestiture” required by law to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally,” it said. “And certainly not within the 270 days required by law.”

For now, TikTok seems to be looking for more legal wrangling. right New York Post On Friday, the company brought a legal expert from NetChoice, a right-wing technology lobby group, into its government relations department.

TikTok has said it has severed most ties with its parent company, but some former employees said wealth earlier this year, they worked closely with ByteDance.

Meanwhile, Beijing is increasingly using so-called golden shares in Chinese technology companies to expand its oversight of the country’s big tech firms.

In 2021, the Chinese government took a small stake in ByteDance’s Chinese subsidiary, which also gave it the right to appoint one of its board members.

Despite interest from potential US buyers, TikTok said that even if a sale were possible, a US-only version wouldn’t be the same.

“Even if the divestiture were feasible, TikTok in the United States would still be reduced to a shell of its former self, devoid of the innovative and expressive technology that tailors content to each user,” TikTok wrote in a June court filing challenging the law.

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