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TikTok v. Garland

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TikTok v. Garland
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Full case name TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. v. Merrick B. Garland, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the United States
DecidedDecember 6, 2024
Court membership
Judges sittingSri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao, Douglas H. Ginsburg
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TikTok, et al. v. Garland is a lawsuit brought by social media company TikTok against the United States government. Chinese internet technology company ByteDance and its subsidiary TikTok allege that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) violates the Freedom of Speech Clause of the First Amendment, the Bill of Attainder Clause of Article I, Section IX, and the Due Process Clause and Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.[1][2][3] The law bans or requires divestment of apps owned by foreign corporations from, or by corporations owned by foreign nationals from, countries designated as U.S. foreign adversaries.[4]

On December 6, 2024, a panel of judges on the U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the company's claims about the constitutionality of the law and upheld it.[5][6][7]

Background

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Main article: Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act
Further information: Donald Trump–TikTok controversy and Restrictions on TikTok in the United States

President Joe Biden signed PAFACA into law on April 24, 2024, codified as 15 U.S.C. § 9901.[8] The law gives TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, 270 days to sell TikTok. If ByteDance fails to do so, TikTok will face a ban from U.S. app stores and internet hosting services, limiting new downloads and access to its content. The deadline for the sale is January 19, 2025, but Biden can extend it by another 90 days if progress is made, potentially giving TikTok up to a year before a ban is enforced.[9] In addition to TikTok and ByteDance, the ban applies to a "covered company controlled by a foreign adversary and determined by the President to present a significant threat to the national security of the United States ..."[8]

Lawsuit

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On May 7, 2024, TikTok and ByteDance filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the legislation primarily on First Amendment grounds, alleging that the forced divestiture or ban of the platform would violate the free speech rights of the company and its users. The company accused the U.S. government of operating on "hypothetical" national security concerns, contending that it has not outlined any credible security threat posed by the platform in an adequate manner, and has not explained why TikTok "should be excluded from evaluation under the standards Congress concurrently imposed on every other platform."[10][11][12] The lawsuit also alleged that the Chinese government would not permit ByteDance to include the algorithm that has been the "key to the success of TikTok in the United States."[13]

Proceedings

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In the lawsuit, TikTok requested a declaratory judgment to prevent the PAFACA from being enforced.[14] The Court of Appeals expedited the case, setting oral arguments for September 2024,[15] and a decision by December 2024.[16]

In June 2024, TikTok presented briefs to the court that laid out why the company believes the ban to be unconstitutional under the First Amendment.[17] TikTok argued any divestiture or separation would take years and the law runs afoul of Americans' free speech rights.[17] The brief included a 90-page proposal about plans by TikTok to address American national security concerns.[18] The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) responded the following month, in which it asked the court to reject TikTok's legal challenge.[19] The DoJ argued the law is aimed at addressing national security concerns, not speech, and is aimed at China's ability to exploit TikTok to access Americans’ sensitive personal information.[19] The DOJ alleged that ByteDance employees in China obtained sensitive information on U.S. users, such as views on abortion, religion, and gun control, from overseas TikTok employees through Lark.[20] In August and September, 2024, DOJ filed classified documents with the court to outline additional security concerns regarding ByteDance's ownership of TikTok.[19][21]

Oral arguments were held on September 16, 2024.[21]

On December 6, 2024, the Court of Appeals rejected TikTok's constitutional arguments and found that the law does not “contravene the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” nor does it “violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws.”[22] “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” Judge Ginsburg wrote in the court's decision. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”[23] On December 9, TikTok and ByteDance filed a motion for an injunction in the case to allow the app to continue operating until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to hear an appeal of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruling.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Benson, Peter J.; Brannon, Valerie C.; Lampe, Joanna R. (May 9, 2024). Regulation of TikTok Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act: Analysis of Selected Legal Issues (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 1. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Sutherland, Michael D.; Benson, Peter J.; Cho, Clare Y. (May 14, 2024). TikTok: Frequently Asked Questions and Issues for Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service. pp. 21–26. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Benson, Peter J.; Brannon, Valerie C.; Linebaugh, Chris D.; Lampe, Joanna R.; Mulligan, Stephen P. (March 15, 2024). Restricting TikTok (Part II): Legislative Proposals and Considerations for Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service. pp. 3–5. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Benson, Peter J.; Brannon, Valerie C.; Lampe, Joanna R. (May 9, 2024). Regulation of TikTok Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act: Analysis of Selected Legal Issues (Report). Congressional Research Service. pp. 1–2. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (December 6, 2024). "TikTok Loses Bid to Overturn Law Forcing a Ban or Sale". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Hadero, Haleluya (December 6, 2024). "Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Vanian, Jonathan; Mangan, Dan (December 6, 2024). "Appeals court upholds law ordering China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or face U.S. ban". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "15 USC 9901: Prohibition on transfer of personally identifiable sensitive data of United States individuals to foreign adversaries". uscode.house.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  9. ^ Fung, Brian (April 24, 2024). "Biden just signed a potential TikTok ban into law. Here's what happens next". CNN. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Scott, Rachel; Pereira, Ivan (May 7, 2024). "TikTok sues federal government over potential US ban". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Shepardson, David (May 7, 2024). "TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app". Reuters.
  12. ^ "Read TikTok's legal challenge". The New York Times. 2024-05-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-07-29. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  13. ^ "TikTok sues US to block law that could ban the social media platform". Associated Press. 2024-05-07. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  14. ^ Gershman, Jacob; Bobrowsky, Meghan (May 7, 2024). "TikTok Sues to Block U.S. Ban". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  15. ^ Shepardson, David (May 28, 2024). "US court to hear challenges to potential TikTok ban in September". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  16. ^ del Valle, Gaby; Feiner, Lauren (September 14, 2024). "TikTok is about to get its day in court". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Shepardson, David (June 20, 2024). "TikTok says US ban is inevitable without a court order blocking law". Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (June 20, 2024). "TikTok Lays Out Past Efforts to Address U.S. Concerns". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c "TikTok's appeal should be thrown out, US justice department tells court". The Guardian. 2024-07-27. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-07-28. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  20. ^ "Justice Department says TikTok collected US user views on issues like abortion and gun control". Associated Press. 2024-07-27. Archived from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  21. ^ a b "TikTok Inc. v. Merrick Garland, 24-1113 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  22. ^ Duffy, Clare; Fung, Brian (December 6, 2024). "TikTok is one step closer to being banned in the US". CNN. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Lee, Wendy; Chang, Andrea (December 6, 2024). "TikTok lost a major legal bid to avoid a U.S. ban. Now what?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  24. ^ Mangan, Dan (December 9, 2024). "TikTok says ban would cost U.S. small businesses, creators $1.3 billion in first month". CNBC. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
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