TikTok "Will Sue If Forced Sale Law Passes in US"... Likely to Become an Issue of 'Freedom of Expression' Violation

"Violation of First Amendment Freedom of Expression"
US-China Conflict Expected to Intensify
EU Also Expected to Temporarily Ban TikTok Lite

As the United States pushes for the forced sale of the Chinese video platform TikTok, ByteDance, the Chinese IT company and parent company of TikTok, has decided to counter with a lawsuit. With the TikTok forced sale bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives awaiting Senate approval, whether the move infringes on 'freedom of expression' is expected to become a key issue in the ongoing TikTok controversy. As the U.S. raises its level of checks against China citing national security concerns, TikTok has also announced a strong response, signaling that U.S.-China tensions are likely to escalate further.

According to major foreign media on the 22nd (local time), Michael Beckerman, head of public policy at TikTok's U.S. branch, stated in a recent memo to employees that if the U.S. passes the TikTok forced sale law, "we will take legal action and go to court."

He said, "TikTok has 170 million American users," and "this law clearly violates the First Amendment rights of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression." He added, "We will continue to fight," emphasizing, "This is not the end of a long process but the beginning."

Earlier, on the 20th, the U.S. House included a security budget package that covers support for Ukraine and Israel. This bill contains provisions for the forced sale of TikTok. If ByteDance does not sell its TikTok shares within 360 days, the bill aims to ban TikTok application downloads in the U.S., effectively removing TikTok from the American market. Bipartisan concerns in the U.S. government and Congress over American personal data being transferred to the Chinese Communist Party have increased, making the forced sale of TikTok likely to materialize. If the TikTok forced sale bill passes the Senate this week, President Joe Biden plans to sign it immediately. Once enacted, TikTok is expected to file a lawsuit citing the First Amendment.

The Chinese government has strongly opposed the U.S. push for TikTok's forced sale. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, harshly criticized the U.S., saying, "Trying to take someone else's good property as your own is completely the logic of a robber." China has also ordered the removal of American social networking services (SNS) such as WhatsApp and Threads from Apple's Chinese App Store, citing security concerns.

With the presidential election coming up in November, President Biden and former President Donald Trump are competing daily to take a tougher stance on China, which is expected to further deepen tensions between the two countries.

Meanwhile, TikTok is also cornered in Europe. The European Union (EU) has launched an investigation into TikTok's newly released 'TikTok Lite' for violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The European Commission views the newly introduced reward program in TikTok Lite as posing addiction risks and is expected to impose a temporary ban across all 27 member countries.