Attorney General Fitch joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Districtof Columbia to uphold the national TikTok divest-or-ban legislation passed byCongress earlier this year.
The federal law bans TikTok in the United States if Chinese-owned ByteDance,TikTok’s parent company, does not sell their stake in the platform. ByteDanceand TikTok sued the federal government following the ban.The attorneys general are asking the court in an amicus brief to deny TikTok’spetition as it is within Congress’s power to act on matters of national securityand foreign affairs.
TikTok is a threat to national security and consumerprivacy as the company collects user data that could be shared with the Chinese Communist Party (a known enemy of the United States), infringes onAmericans’ right to privacy, and promotes dangerous content to minors.“TikTok aggressively acquires the personal data of its users, and we must bevigilant about how that data is being used in today’s digital landscape,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “Upholding privacy and security is essentialto safeguarding Mississippi’s future and I am proud to stand with mycolleagues from 20 states to fight back against China and protect the bestinterests of online users everywhere.” TikTok has confirmed its technology and infrastructure are ultimatelycontrolled by the Chinese government.
While TikTok claims the FirstAmendment protects their right to spy on Americans, the ban does not violatethe company’s free speech rights because it doesn’t target behavior with asignificant expressive element, or single out those engaged in expressiveactivity.“TikTok is a valuable tool for conducting corporate and internationalespionage, and it may allow the Chinese Communist Party to track the real-time locations of public officials, journalists, and other individuals adverse to
the Chinese Communist Party’s interests,” the attorneys general stated in thebrief.Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing its ties to theChinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the risk of the CCP accessingand exploiting their data.Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire,Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah joined alsojoined the brief led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and VirginiaAttorney General Jason Miyares.
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