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 TikTok legislation passed by U.S. Congress.
Introduced earlier this year, the federal law would ban 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 U.S. government. The attorneys general are asking the court to deny TikTok’s petition, asserting that Congress has the power to act in the matter of national security and foreign affairs.
“TikTok poses a clear danger to our national security that cannot be ignored. TikTok’s data collection practices provide a pipeline of sensitive information to the Chinese Communist Party. We cannot allow a foreign government to exploit our personal information or influence our younger generation with dangerous content,” Miyares said. “The divest-or-ban legislation is a necessary measure to safeguard Americans, and I urge the court to uphold Congress’s actions. Protecting the privacy and security of American citizens is non-negotiable, and we will stand firm.”
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 U.S. TikTok’s operations also infringe upon Americans’ right to privacy and promote harmful content to minors. Allowing TikTok to operate in the U.S. without severing its ties to the Chinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the risk of the CCP accessing and exploiting data.
TikTok also stands as a potent tool for corporate and international espionage, offering the Chinese Communist Party the means to monitor the real-time activities of public officials, journalists, and other individuals deemed adversarial to its interests.
Miyares co-led the 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 and Utah.
Related stories
- U.S. House approves legislation to ban TikTok if parent company does not sell social media app (augustafreepress.com)
- Jason Miyares joins 19 Republican AGs in brief backing proposed Montana TikTok ban (augustafreepress.com)
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Rebecca Barnabi
