New: TikTok Sues US Over Divestment Order on 1A Grounds

TikTok has sued the U.S. government, accusing it of trampling on its First Amendment rights when legislation was signed into law forcing its Chinese parent company to sell the social media platform or face a national ban.

Advertisement

The lawsuit, filed in federal court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, marks the most momentous challenge to the government’s forceful rebuke of a Chinese firm’s ownership of the leading video-sharing app in America alleged to hoover up troves of data. It sets up what’s expected to be a lengthy legal battle pitting national security concerns against free speech protections for millions of users.

Ed Morrissey

This is not a First Amendment issue. To the extent it's a constitutional issue at all, it could be an Article I Section 9 issue. TikTok could argue that a bill targeting them explicitly and solely is a form of a bill of attainder. That might be an interesting argument too, but I suspect that federal courts will see this as a commerce issue, and that Congress has the authority to act in the realm of international trade as well as national security, especially in concert with the executive. 

No one is losing an opportunity to speak. Americans have other platforms for speech that are just as easy to access. There is no constitutional guarantee that foreign governments or their proxies can operate propaganda platforms in the US, especially when it also operates as a suspicious data-trawling service for a hostile government. 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement