Clock ticks for TikTok to change parent company or face ban in United States
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - TikTok is looking for a lifeline to continue running in the United States.
A national security law says they must sell to a non-Chinese company by Jan. 19 or face a ban in the U.S.
TikTok’s Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block the law. It comes after a federal appeals court upheld the law earlier this month.
In an emergency application, the company’s attorneys wrote that "A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter—before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed."
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TikTok says banning the app would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights to free speech.
The ban had bipartisan support following lawmakers who got classified briefings from the intelligence community about the threat TikTok could pose to national security.
President Joe Biden signed the law in April after concerns that the app could collect data on Americans and share it with the Chinese government.
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The law gives the government the ability to grant a 90-day extension if there’s progress towards a sale.
President-elect Donald Trump met with TikTok’s CEO Monday.
He pushed for a ban on the social media app in his first term but campaigned to save the platform this time.
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