WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - TikTok is scrambling in federal court to halt a law forcing the company to sell to a U.S. owner or be banned in the U.S. January 19th.
TikTok refuses to sell. Monday they filed a motion to a federal appeals court after three judges on the court ruled to uphold the law last week.
In the filing TikTok argues the law is unconstitutional and a violation of First Amendment rights. The company requests the case be delayed until the Supreme Court can review it and after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in January 20th. In the filing TikTok cites Trump’s campaign promise to “save TikTok.”
George Washington University Law Professor Alan Morrison argues Trump has no authority to override the law.
If the courts uphold the ban, Morrison says Trump will have to convince Congress which passed the mandate with sweeping bipartisan support back in April to change the law.
“He has to get the Congress, which passed this law by something like almost unanimously to say, never mind, I was wrong,” says Morrison. “That may be a hard sale for a lot of people.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) argue TikTok needs to sell to ensure it’s not banned. They argue TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is a national security threat because their data is accessible to the Chinese government.
“The problem with TikTok is it's a tool of the CCP to spy on Americans,” says Schmitt.
There are a lot of people who would love to buy TikTok, a lot of companies, a lot of individuals…who are not controlled by the Communist Party in Beijing,” says Hawley.
TikTok denies Americans’ data is compromised. Roughly 170 million Americans are on the app.
