According to reports from Whip News, on January 4, TikTok requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the allegations from the U.S. federal government that TikTok and its owner ByteDance, as a foreign company, do not enjoy the rights granted by the First Amendment, stating that the Biden administration's position is incorrect and sets a dangerous precedent.
The company has requested the court to invalidate a law that forces it to divest its Chinese ownership by January 19, or at least issue an injunction to prevent the law from taking effect.
TikTok stated in a filing that it has been recognized as a legitimate American company.
TikTok stated in a filing submitted on Friday: a shocking proposal — that the law shutting down a speech platform used by 170 million Americans should not be subject to judicial review — implies that Congress could explicitly ban TikTok's operations because they refuse to censor views Congress dislikes or promote those it likes.
"If this theory is accepted, then any American speaker who publishes content that may reflect the opinions of foreign entities or could be coerced by foreign entities would lose the rights granted by the First Amendment. This is clearly incorrect," the company argued.
The judge will expedite the hearing of TikTok's case on January 10 — just nine days before the law takes effect.
A group of users challenging the law argued that TikTok's editing tools and recommendation features through video sharing help their businesses in ways that other social media platforms cannot.
They argued in the filing submitted on Friday that TikTok could be forced to disclose any foreign influence, but Congress cannot legally ban it on the grounds that concerns about foreign influence do not constitute a basis for a total suppression of speech (through forced sale or otherwise).
The bill was approved by Congress in April and signed by President Biden, receiving bipartisan support from lawmakers who stated that TikTok's collection of user data poses a national security threat.
President Biden's Justice Department stated in a filing submitted to the Supreme Court last week that the First Amendment does not apply to the foreign company ByteDance. The Justice Department also stated that divestment requirements are unrelated to content and are not directed at any speech.
The Justice Department document stated: as a threshold issue, the prohibition on foreign adversaries' ownership and control does not involve First Amendment rights.
TikTok lost in lower courts, with a judge refusing to issue an injunction to block the law, instead delaying the decision until after hearing from both parties.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump submitted a brief last week requesting that the judge issue an injunction against the law so that he could reach a new agreement that would not threaten free speech rights or national security issues.
Trump's lawsuit neither represents TikTok nor the federal government that wishes to ban TikTok. Instead, he stated that he likes social media and the First Amendment but acknowledges national security concerns. He hopes the court will delay legislation to give him a chance to address these issues while in office.
Trump has over 14 million followers on TikTok, and he believes the platform helped him gain support from young voters.
Trump's stance on TikTok has changed. He initially viewed TikTok as a national security threat but later created an account and softened his position. In September, he posted on Truth Social that he would save TikTok for America.