TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance are suing the US federal government to challenge a law that would force the sale of ByteDance’s stake or face a ban, saying that the law is unconstitutional. The lawsuit filed on Tuesday may be setting up what could be a protracted legal fight over its future in the United States.
The popular social video company alleged the law, which President Joe Biden signed as part of a larger $95 billion foreign aid package, is so “obviously unconstitutional” that the sponsors of The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act are trying to portray the law not as a ban, but as a regulation of TikTok’s ownership.