TikTok is in a tough legal battle in the D.C. Circuit Court, challenging a law that forces ByteDance to either sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban. The company's defense focused on First Amendment rights, arguing that content manipulation is a form of free expression. However, the judges were skeptical, questioning whether protections for Chinese coders applied and raising national security concerns. TikTok's arguments didn’t seem to resonate with the court, making its chances of success appear slim.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has ramped up its use of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to crack down on unregistered foreign influence. High-profile cases, including a recent indictment of Asian policy expert Sue Mi Terry, raise concerns about overreach and its impact on free speech. The government’s expanding use of FARA is pushing into media and public relations, with potential long-term implications for creators, journalists, and social platforms.
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Jeffrey Fisher, representing TikTok creators:
"It would be shocking if Congress banned Democracy in America because it was written by a foreign author in conjunction with a foreign government."
Judge Rao clapped back:
"We’re not talking about banning de Tocqueville. We’re talking about banning foreign ownership potentially because they’re exerting covert influence. It’s very different."
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No paywall: https://archive.li/VizYN
Discussion (1)
I get that TikTok is a massive platform but banning it over potential foreign influence feels like a slippery slope.
Are we really gonna start banning every app with ties to foreign governments? Should we be banning Spotify because it’s Swedish-owned?
There are so many apps with international ownership, and TikTok’s popularity makes it an easy target. It seems like this could open the door for censorship and corporate interference under the guise of “national security".