TikTok sues US government over potential ban WSOC TV [Video]

TikTok filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to halt a potential ban of the popular social media app, calling it an “unprecedented violation” of the First Amendment, according to multiple reports.

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The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden signed a bill that would force the Chinese owner of TikTok, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban, The New York Times reported.

“Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok: a vibrant online forum for protected speech and expression used by 170 million Americans to create, share, and view videos over the Internet,” attorneys for ByteDance and TikTok said in a 67-page petition obtained by NBC News.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than …