Setback for app makers
Court: US law on selling Tiktok is legal
Tiktok is defending itself against a law in the USA that would force a change of ownership of the app. However, a court sides with the US government.
Tiktok has suffered a defeat in its fight against the US law on the sale of the popular short video app. An appeals court in the capital Washington declared the law legal. Tiktok now only has to go to the US Supreme Court.
The subsidiary of the China-based Bytedance Group argued in its lawsuit that the law violated the freedom of speech enshrined in the American Constitution. However, the court pointed out, among other things, that the law corresponds to long-standing regulatory practice and that the US Congress does not want to suppress certain statements.
According to the law that came into force in April, Bytedance has around a year to separate from Tiktok before the app is banned from app stores in the USA. The justification is based on the risk that China could gain access to Americans’ data and exercise political influence.
Tiktok: Not possible to sell at all
The Tiktok lawsuit states, among other things, that a proposed separation from Bytedance to remain in the USA is “simply not possible”, neither commercially, technologically nor legally.
The law initially gave Bytedance 270 days to separate from Tiktok. US President Joe Biden can then extend the deadline by another three months if there are signs of progress in the sales talks. But Tiktok made it clear that from the company’s perspective this would not happen. “There is no question: the law will force Tiktok to close on January 19, 2025,” the lawsuit said. According to media reports, Bytedance does not even plan to negotiate a sale of Tiktok.
On January 20th, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next US President. In his first term in office, he failed in court in an attempt to sell Tiktok. Most recently during the election campaign, he spoke out against banning the platform. However, he cannot override the law.
USA sees shadow of China behind Tiktok
Bytedance is viewed across all parties in the USA as a Chinese company. Tiktok counters that Bytedance is almost 60 percent owned by Western investors. The company headquarters are on the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. However, US politicians counter that the Chinese founder is in control thanks to higher voting rights with a share of around 20 percent and that Bytedance’s headquarters are in Beijing, where they cannot escape the influence of the authorities.
At the same time, Tiktok itself pointed out in the lawsuit that the Chinese government wanted to block a sale of the recommendation software developed in China as the core of the app. The algorithm decides which video will be shown next and reacts very sensitively to, among other things, how long you watch a clip on a certain topic.
According to its own information, Tiktok has 170 million users in the USA.
dpa
Source: Stern
