During recent arguments before the Supreme Court, the attorney representing TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, issued a significant warning regarding a proposed law that would mandate the sale of the widely-used short-video platform or result in its ban in the United States. The lawyer emphasized that if Congress were allowed to impose such a restriction on TikTok, it could set a dangerous precedent for other companies in the tech and media sectors as well.
The legislation in question would require ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by a deadline of January 19 or face a prohibition on operation within the country. TikTok and ByteDance have argued that this law not only poses a threat to their business interests but also infringes upon constitutional rights, particularly the First Amendment, which safeguards against governmental overreach in the suppression of free speech.
Noel Francisco, the attorney representing the companies, articulated during the proceedings that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of this law could open the door for Congress to enact similar regulations targeting various other businesses based on national security concerns. He illustrated his point with a hypothetical scenario: “Consider AMC movie theaters, which were previously owned by a Chinese corporation. Under the rationale of this law, Congress might have the authority to compel AMC to either censor certain films that are deemed unfavourable or to promote specific movies that align with their interests,” he stated, highlighting the broader implications of government overreach into corporate governance…..
