The United States government and TikTok will face off in federal court on Monday, as oral arguments begin in a pivotal legal issue that may determine whether or not a popular social media platform used by nearly half of all Americans will continue to operate in the country.
The federal appeals court in Washington will have judges on the panel that will hear arguments from the attorneys for the two parties.
A US statute that mandates TikTok and its parent firm, ByteDance, based in China, to sever links or face a ban in the US by mid-January is being contested by the two companies.
Advertisement
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in April, capping a protracted legal battle in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government views as a national security risk because of its ties to China.
However, TikTok contends that the law violates the First Amendment, while other opponents say it is reminiscent of the occasional crackdowns observed in foreign…