TikTok creators say the platform, which is used by 170 million Americans, has had a "a profound effect on American life."
A group of TikTok creators said Tuesday they filed suit in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app.
The TikTok users suing include a Texas Marine Corps veteran who sells his ranch products, a Tennessee woman selling cookies and discussing parenting, a North Dakota college coach who makes sports commentary videos, a Mississippi hip hop artist who shares Biblical quizzes and a recent college graduate in North Carolina who advocates for the rights of sexual-assault survivors.
The lawsuit notes that TikTok provides creators a "unique and irreplaceable means to express themselves and form community."
Last week, TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a similar lawsuit, arguing that the law violates the U.S. Constitution on a number of grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections. The lawsuit said the divestiture "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally" and the Act (law) "will force a shutdown of TikTok."
On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to ban TikTok in the country if ByteDance does not sell the platform. The US authorities explain the need to ban the platform saying that the application is “controlled by the country's foreign adversaries” and that there is no way to guarantee the security of personal data of Americans using this social network.On April 24, the divest-or-ban bill was signed by president Joe Biden.
Source: Reuters
