Justice Dept. Defends TikTok Law That Forces App’s Sale or Ban

The United States Department of Justice has recently come out in defense of a law that could potentially force the popular social media app TikTok to either be sold or banned in the country. The law, which was passed by former President Donald Trump in August 2020, requires the Chinese-owned app to be sold to a US-based company or face being banned due to national security concerns.

The Justice Department’s defense of this law comes as TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, continues to fight against the forced sale of the app. In a court filing on Wednesday, the Justice Department argued that the law is necessary to protect US national security interests, as TikTok collects vast amounts of data on American users that could be accessed by the Chinese government.

The department also claimed that ByteDance has not provided sufficient evidence to prove that it does not share user data with the Chinese government, despite the company’s repeated denials of such allegations. The Justice Department’s filing stated, “ByteDance has not demonstrated that it is independent from the Chinese government and Communist Party, and it is unclear whether ByteDance would be able to resist efforts by the Chinese government to obtain the data of US users.”

The defense of the law by the Justice Department comes as TikTok remains in legal limbo, with the forced sale deadline having been repeatedly extended over the past year. The app has also faced numerous other challenges, including a potential ban by the Trump administration and ongoing concerns over its data privacy practices.

Despite these challenges, TikTok remains one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with over 100 million users in the US alone. The app has also been praised for its innovative and engaging content, as well as its ability to connect users from around the world.

As the legal battle over TikTok’s future continues, it remains to be seen what the ultimate fate of the app will be. However, with the Justice Department now defending the law that could force TikTok to be sold or banned, it seems likely that the app’s future in the US remains uncertain.