TikTok sues U.S. government. What does it mean for the potential ban of the platform? WSOC TV [Video]

TikTok filed a widely expected lawsuit Tuesday seeking a court order to prevent the U.S. from enforcing a ban on the social app after President Biden signed the legislation last month. The potential ban would require the platform’s parent company, the China-based ByteDance, to divest from TikTok and sell to a U.S.-based company by Jan. 19, 2025, to continue operating in the U.S. ByteDance has already said it would rather shut down TikTok than sell it.

The lawsuit, which was filed with a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., claims that the U.S. government is violating TikTok’s First Amendment rights as well as “silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.” Yahoo News reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.

🚫 Why does the U.S. want to ban TikTok?

There are concerns that the Chinese government could access user data through TikTok since the app is owned by a Chinese company, which is why …