As the Supreme Court prepares to take up the case, leading lawmakers, First Amendment advocates and President-elect Trump weighed in Friday on legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States.
The court last week agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to a law that would require China-based parent company ByteDance to exit the app by January 19.
The case is being heard at a rapid pace, with oral arguments scheduled for January 10, and a ruling could be reached days before the ban takes effect.
See who's supporting each side in the blockbuster First Amendment lawsuit.
I support banning TikTok
In defending the law, the Biden administration argues that it complies with the First Amendment because free speech concerns override the government's compelling national security interests.
“The First Amendment would not have required our country to tolerate Soviet ownership and control of American radio stations (or other communications channels or critical infrastructure) during the Cold War; Similarly, we did not demand that TikTok be allowed to be owned and controlled by the United States, which today is a foreign enemy,” U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger wrote in a government briefing on Friday.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
Sen. Mitch McConnell asked the court last week to deny TikTok's request to delay the law.
McConnell's motion was filed just before the court decided to take up the case in its entirety, rejecting TikTok's First Amendment claims and opposing an extension of the Jan. 19 deadline. The content is as follows.
“The far-fetched idea that TikTok has an expressive right to further the Chinese Communist Party's censorship regime is absurd,” wrote Michael A. Fragoso, a lawyer for Mr. McConnell. “Should Congress have allowed Nikita Khrushchev to buy CBS and replace 'The Bing Crosby Show' with Alexander Nevsky?”
Chinese Communist Party Special Committee
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chairs of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said: submitted a joint preparation document It detailed Congress' “extensive legislative fact-finding” regarding the threat posed by China.
“Congress therefore determined that addressing this existing and future threat to designated social media applications, including TikTok, requires removing foreign adversary regulation from the applications,” the attorneys wrote.
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai
Ajit Pai, who headed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the Trump administration, filed a court brief He and Thomas Fed, who previously oversaw the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, supported the Divestment Act.
They pointed to their own experience and argued that the government's concerns were “well-founded” and that the law's approach was “nothing new or unusual.”
“As our trial attorneys know well from past government operations, the Department of Justice's concerns are well-founded,” they wrote. “The United States has long had serious and legitimate public policy concerns about Chinese companies' control of business in the United States in general, and more recently with TikTok in particular.”
Mike Pence's political advocacy group
Advancing American Freedom, a conservative political advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. Submitted a summary They argued that the ruling against TikTok effectively acquiesced to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“The Chinese Communist Party has no respect for free speech in either China or the United States. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a means of giving the Chinese government the power to do what the U.S. government cannot do: manipulate what Americans can say and hear. It is not, and should not be read as such,” the group wrote.
2 former Attorney Generals
Two former attorneys general from Republican administrations file charges joint briefs Supporters of the ban include Michael Mukasey, who served under former President George W. Bush, and Jeff Sessions, who served under Trump.
Their brief included more than a dozen former national security officials.
“By failing to effectively confront the persistent national security threat that TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party poses to Americans and their data, TikTok is now subject to First Amendment government regulation. “They are trying to wrap themselves around America's fagots by citing core reasons why they should not be forced to sell,” the officials' lawyers wrote.
“But this law doesn’t even address the First Amendment.”
22 Republican-led states
Led by Montana and Virginia; 22 Republican State Attorneys General They support banning TikTok, saying the states are “grateful that Congress acted to protect the American people.”
The brief cited TikTok's ongoing challenges to a Montana law banning the platform in the state and said TikTok has conflicting positions.
“TikTok is asking this court to declare that representatives of the people are powerless at all levels of government to prevent hostile foreign powers from spying on Americans.” TikTok and China “The Communist Party cannot hide behind the First Amendment,” the brief reads.
Save TikTok
TikTok asked the judge It invalidated the ban, saying it violated the free speech rights of the platform and its tens of millions of U.S. users, calling the law an “unprecedented action” that was “in conflict with the First Amendment.” said.
“Petitioners do not dispute Congress's compelling interest in keeping this country safe, or the many weapons necessary to do so. It simply does not include suppressing the speech of Americans because of their actions,” TikTok wrote in its brief.
playing cards
President Trump formally weighed in on the case for the first time on Friday, arguing that the justices should delay the ban until then so he can negotiate a resolution to save TikTok once he takes office.
President Trump did not take a position on the First Amendment issue at the center of the case, but a political solution would allow courts to resolve controversial free speech issues. He said it may no longer be necessary.
“Only President Trump has the impeccable deal-making expertise, electoral authority, and political will to negotiate a resolution that upholds the platform while addressing national security concerns.” wrote D. John Sauer, a candidate for U.S. attorney general. He will take over management of the government's defense of the ban.
Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Rand Paul, and Rep. Ro Khanna.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) jointly submitted a preliminary document They argue that the law does not stand up to First Amendment scrutiny.
All three members have previously expressed concerns about the anti-sale law. In a filing Friday, they argue there are “less restrictive” alternatives that could address the government's concerns.
“History has shown us time and time again that governments are too quick to ban speech when faced with foreign interference or national security risks. “We will view with skepticism the government's claims that national security requires a speech ban,” they wrote.
First Amendment and Internet Advocacy Groups
American Civil Liberties Union teamed up with A coalition of First Amendment and internet advocacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology, supports TikTok.
The groups said the federal government has failed to present sufficient evidence to justify forcibly removing millions of Americans from platforms “specific to the way they want to speak and share.”
free speech group Knight First Amendment Institute and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), among others.) similarly submitted Brief supporting TikTok. FIRE's brief also included conservative influencer CJ Pearson.
social and racial justice organizations;
Several social and racial justice organizations, including Stop AAPI Hate and the LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD, also supports TikTok in the High Court.
They praised the platform as a “modern digital town square that empowers diverse communities that are often ignored by other media.”
“Amici also found that the government's stated rationale for censoring the voices of 170 million Americans on TikTok was based on national security concerns as a pretext to demonize immigrants and minorities. “We have serious suspicions that this issue stems from and perpetuates our nation's history of using weapons as weapons,” their brief said.
