Attorney General Jason Miyares has co-led a 21-state coalition urging the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to uphold the divest-or-ban legislation passed by Congress.
Enacted earlier this year, the federal law bans TikTok in the United States unless ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, sells its stake in the platform. In response, ByteDance and TikTok filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The attorneys general are asking the court to deny TikTok’s petition, asserting that Congress has the power to act in this matter of national security and foreign affairs.
TikTok poses significant threats to both national security and consumers' privacy by indiscriminately collecting user data that could be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party, a longstanding adversary of the United States. Additionally, TikTok’s operations infringe upon Americans’ right to privacy and promote harmful content to minors. Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing its ties to the Chinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the risk of the CCP accessing and exploiting their data.
TikTok also stands as a potent tool for corporate and international espionage, offering the Chinese Communist Party means to monitor real-time activities of public officials, journalists, and other individuals deemed adversarial to its interests.
The Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares co-led this amicus brief with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. The following states joined Virginia and Montana’s coalition: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah.
Click here to read the brief.
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