State attorneys general have declared that TikTok poses a threat to national security and consumer privacy. Over 50 lawmakers and more than 20 states support the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce a law requiring ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok assets or face a ban. This ban is currently not in effect due to a court challenge by TikTok. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, is obligated to hand over data collected through the app to monitor American users, as dictated by Chinese law. They argue that this could potentially compromise the security and privacy of Americans.
Legal Battle Over TikTok Ban
The implementation of a law scheduled for Jan. 1, 2024, faced opposition from TikTok and a group of its users. They contended that the ban on the app infringed upon their First Amendment rights and raised other legal concerns. Consequently, a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt the law’s enforcement pending further court proceedings.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated a lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance on Aug. 2, alleging violations of child privacy laws.
Aldgra Fredly and Reuters contributed to this report.
