TikTok Says US Data Not Linked To China

TikTok has told a US appeals court that the US Department of Justice made factual errors in describing the company’s ties to China, as the company, parent ByteDance and a group of US creators seek to overturn a law that could ban the app in January.

The Justice Department’s attorneys said in July that the app poses a national security risk as it allows the Chinese government to collect the data of Americans and determine what is shown to them.

TikTok said the app’s content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle.

The company said content moderation decisions affecting US users are made within the country.

Free speech

TikTok is challenging a law signed by president Joe Biden in April that would force Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest ownership by 19 January or face a US ban.

Lawmakers have said they are seeking a change of ownership, not a ban, but TikTok and ByteDance have said the law amounts to a ban because divestment is not legally or technically possible.

At the hearing Singapore-based TikTok said the new law would interfere with its free-speech rights, opposing the Justice Department’s argument that the app’s content is not covered by the US Constitution as it is “the speech of a foreigner”.

“By the government’s logic, a US newspaper that republishes the content of a foreign publication – Reuters, for example – would lack constitutional protection,” TikTok said.

Election year

The case is set to begin with oral arguments on 16 September.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his presidency, has joined the platform and said in June he would never support a ban.

Vice-president Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, joined the platform in July.

TikTok is used by 170 million users in the US and the government says it is concerned data on them could be obtained by Chinese authorities, something TikTok denies.

Earlier this month the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission filed a separate lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance claiming they failed to protect children’s privacy.