{"id":2379664,"date":"2024-12-13T07:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T12:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-rejects-tiktoks-bid-to-control-americans\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T07:24:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T12:24:27","slug":"court-rejects-tiktoks-bid-to-control-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-rejects-tiktoks-bid-to-control-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Rejects TikTok&#8217;s Bid To Control Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcourt-rejects-tiktoks-bid-to-control-americans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2379664&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>TikTok has encountered a critically important legal challenge as a federal \u2063court denied its request to overturn a law that mandates the app must either be sold to an American owner or face \u2062a potential\u200b ban\u2062 in the U.S. by January 19, 2025. This <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">situation arises amid ongoing scrutiny<\/a> \u200dregarding the app&#8217;s data collection methods,\u2062 which pose privacy concerns by harvesting sensitive facts like IP addresses and biometric data. Despite TikTok&#8217;s popularity, especially during COVID-19 lockdowns, its algorithm has been criticized for fostering addiction among young \u200dusers and promoting harmful content.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is\u200b also accused of \u2063serving as a tool \u2063for \u200cChinese government propaganda by censoring videos that \u200caddress\u200b sensitive subjects, a\u200d practice that has drawn attention since the Trump management&#8217;s attempts in 2020\u2063 to ban the\u200b app\u200d for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hillbilly-elegy-author-jd-vance-confirms-hes-seriously-considering-senate-run-in-ohio\/\" title=\"\u2018Hillbilly Elegy\u2019 Author JD Vance Confirms He\u2019s Seriously Considering Senate Run In Ohio\">national security reasons<\/a>. Although TikTok argued this would violate the First Amendment, federal judges previously \u2064blocked \u200bsuch bans.<\/p>\n<p>A 2022 \u2063report revealed that ByteDance employees in China had accessed U.S. user data, contradicting claims about data safety. As the tension with the Biden administration evolved\u2014where the administration initially engaged with TikTok influencers \u200cbut later restricted TikTok&#8217;s use on\u200c government devices following security concerns\u2014the contradiction peaked\u2062 when President Biden&#8217;s reelection campaign surprisingly launched a TikTok account after implementing a ban.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok&#8217;s future in the U.S. hangs in the balance amidst\u200b ongoing\u200c issues of data security, geopolitical tensions, and \u2064its effect \u2062on young users.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>TikTok suffered a major legal setback as a federal court <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/federal-appeals-court-upholds-law-requiring-sale-ban-116526667\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejected<\/a> the company&rsquo;s petition to overturn the law that requires TikTok either to find an American owner or face a ban in the United States as early as January 19, 2025. If the ban is enforced, it could significantly impact the popular made-in-China app&rsquo;s millions of users in the United States, as well as the company&rsquo;s global operations.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2020, TikTok (which is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company) has been embroiled in a legal battle in the U.S., coinciding with the app&rsquo;s explosive popularity. The app, which became a source of entertainment for bored young people under Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, is now under scrutiny. As its user base has grown, so have the app&rsquo;s problems. TikTok&rsquo;s data collection practices, which include acquiring IP addresses, browsing history, and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6071773\/tiktok-faceprints-voiceprints-privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">biometric information<\/a>, have raised serious <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/08\/04\/what-tiktok-hides-beneath-its-addicting-little-videos-should-scare-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">privacy and data security concerns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/awards.journalists.org\/entries\/inside-tiktoks-dangerously-addictive-algorithm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">analysis<\/a> found that TikTok&rsquo;s robust algorithm is a major reason why young people are addicted to smartphones. The app often pushes young users &ldquo;deep into harmful rabbit holes of content&rdquo; that &ldquo;glorif[ies] eating disorders, drugs, violence&rdquo; and makes it difficult for users to escape. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/social-media\/trumps-cabinet-picks-deeply-divided-tiktok-ban-rcna181042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> TikTok and social media platforms &ldquo;are specifically designed to create the digital dependencies that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nashville-tragedy-shows-why-it-isnt-compassionate-to-fuel-mental-illness\/\" title=\"Nashville Tragedy Shows Why It Isn\u2019t Compassionate To Fuel Mental Illness\">fuel mental illness<\/a> and anxiety, to fray children&rsquo;s bonds with their parents and siblings. Federal policy cannot allow this industrial-scale child abuse to continue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>TikTok is also known to serve as Communist China&rsquo;s propaganda tool by extending Beijing&rsquo;s censorship to non-Chinese citizens overseas. The app <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2019\/sep\/25\/revealed-how-tiktok-censors-videos-that-do-not-please-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> instructs its content moderators to &ldquo;censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong,&rdquo; all sensitive subjects that the Chinese government has censored for decades.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, the Trump administration sought to ban the app from being downloaded in U.S.-based app stores and force a sale of TikTok to U.S.-majority ownership. However, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, sued the Trump administration, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/tech-news\/tiktok-sues-us-government-says-ban-violates-first-amendment-rcna151059\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arguing<\/a> that a download ban would violate the First Amendment. It&rsquo;s pretty ironic that a Communist China propaganda and censorship tool presented itself as a defender of free speech in the U.S. Unfortunately, a federal judge sided with TikTok and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/tiktok-makes-its-case-for-last-minute-reprieve-from-u-s-download-ban-11601225594?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked<\/a> the administration&rsquo;s download ban.<\/p>\n<p>ByteDance insisted that U.S. user data is safe because it is stored on U.S. soil, with a backup center in Singapore. However, a 2022 investigative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/emilybakerwhite\/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> by BuzzFeed found that ByteDance&rsquo;s Chinese employees have &ldquo;repeatedly accessed nonpublic&rdquo; U.S. user data and &ldquo;Everything is seen in China.&rdquo; The report also found a Beijing-based engineer serving as a &ldquo;Master Admin&rdquo; who &ldquo;has access to everything.&rdquo; This means the Chinese government has access to everything as well. <\/p>\n<p>According to China&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfareblog.com\/beijings-new-national-intelligence-law-defense-offense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">national intelligence law<\/a>, all Chinese tech companies must turn over any data they collect if the government demands it. Clearly, TikTok and ByteDance have misled the U.S. government when they insisted that U.S. user data is safe from Beijing&rsquo;s snooping. There is nothing to stop China&rsquo;s intelligence agencies from mining the U.S. user information TikTok collects and using it to blackmail Americans in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s nominee for the next chair of the FCC, has been a vocal critic of TikTok. In a 2022 letter to U.S. tech giant Apple and Google, Carr <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/05\/big-tech-should-ban-invasive-tiktok-app-that-mines-personal-data-for-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> TikTok &ldquo;poses an unacceptable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-considering-not-giving-trump-intelligence-briefings\/\" title=\"Biden Considering Not Giving Trump Intelligence Briefings\">national security risk<\/a>&rdquo; due to its data harvesting and Beijing&rsquo;s &ldquo;unchecked access&rdquo; to that data, urging these American tech companies to remove the app from their app store.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration&rsquo;s approach to TikTok has been full of contradictions, leaving many perplexed. The administration regarded TikTok as a valuable medium for reaching young voters and often courted TikTok influencers in embarrassing ways. For instance, in 2022, the Biden administration first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/technology\/white-house-pre-screened-questions-tiktok-briefing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invited<\/a> about 30 TikTok influencers (many of whom had no journalism or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-embarrassing-tulsi-gabbard-slams-kamala-harris-for-her-remarks-during-international-trip\/\" title=\"\u2018This Is Embarrassing\u2019: Tulsi Gabbard Slams Kamala Harris For Her Remarks During International Trip\">foreign policy background<\/a>) to the White House to receive policy briefings after Russia invaded Ukraine. Then White House officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/biden-white-house-state-of-the-union-address-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">briefed<\/a> another group of 70 influencers ahead of President Biden&rsquo;s State of the Union address.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden White House&rsquo;s relationship with TikTok changed after Forbes magazine&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/emilybaker-white\/2022\/12\/22\/tiktok-tracks-forbes-journalists-bytedance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disclosure<\/a> in December 2022 that TikTok had spied on three journalists. This revelation led to the resignation of one ByteDance executive and the firing of another. The mounting evidence of TikTok&rsquo;s security risks, including the spying incident, played a crucial role in President Biden&rsquo;s decision to sign legislation to block most federal government devices from using TikTok.<\/p>\n<p>But a little over a year later, President Biden&rsquo;s reelection campaign ignored the president&rsquo;s ban and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-68275634\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">launched an account<\/a> on TikTok on Super Bowl Sunday. In April, to get Republicans&rsquo; support for a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, President Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-mike-johnson-ukraine-israel-b72aed9b195818735d24363f2bc34ea4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed legislation<\/a>, with rare bipartisan support, giving ByteDance nine months to either sell TikTok US to a U.S.-approved buyer or face a nationwide ban as of January 19, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok and ByteDance <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tiktok-3b4c1fa44c89d4568d26f1c7caf303ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> to challenge the legislation, still on First Amendment grounds, with an additional disclosure that the Chinese government would never bless TikTok&rsquo;s divestment.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made a unanimous decision, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/federal-appeals-court-upholds-law-requiring-sale-ban-116526667\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denying<\/a> TikTok and ByteDance&rsquo;s petition to overturn the law. The court pointed out the fallacy of the companies&rsquo; First Amendment argument: &ldquo;The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here, the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary&rsquo;s ability to gather data on people in the United States.&rdquo; Lawyers representing TikTok and ByteDance said they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, legal experts see little chance that the Supreme Court will take this case.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok and ByteDance are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/social-media\/trumps-cabinet-picks-deeply-divided-tiktok-ban-rcna181042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> lobbying the incoming Trump administration as a last resort after President Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-tiktok-ban-congress-president-282d8df7b91dce270316509badd39978#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> during an interview that he still believed TikTok was a national security risk but opposed a ban. Trump&rsquo;s cabinet picks are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/social-media\/trumps-cabinet-picks-deeply-divided-tiktok-ban-rcna181042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> divided on a TikTok ban. No one knows what Trump will do. Given his nature as a dealmaker, the most likely outcome is TikTok&rsquo;s divestment to an American owner, even though it&rsquo;s an outcome neither TikTok nor ByteDance wants.<\/p>\n<p>One thing is certain: TikTok U.S. won&rsquo;t operate as it has been in January, and that is a positive step for our national security &mdash; and for the safety and mental health of our youth.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&amp;qid=1606079469&amp;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1606006113&amp;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Her latest book is the 2nd edition of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Broken-Welcome-Mat-unAmerican-immigration-ebook\/dp\/B0C44QSPJ9\/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3HFXEVT236ZRW&amp;keywords=The+Broken+welcome+mat+book&amp;qid=1683127487&amp;sprefix=the+broken+welcome+mat+book%2Caps%2C135&amp;sr=8-3\">&ldquo;The Broken Welcome Mat: America&rsquo;s UnAmerican immigration policy, and how we should fix it.&rdquo;<\/a>   Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TikTok faces a legal setback as a court denies its appeal against a U.S. ban<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2379665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-12-10T193357.964.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3884,4733,4431,4325,6248],"class_list":["post-2379664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-americans","tag-court","tag-legal","tag-privacy","tag-tiktok"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-12-10T193357.964.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379664"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2379668,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379664\/revisions\/2379668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}