AGS NEWS – TikTok has urged a federal appeals court to overturn a law requiring its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban.

The company argued that the U.S. Department of Justice has made factual errors regarding its ties to China, particularly in claims that TikTok poses a national security risk by allowing the Chinese government access to American user data.

TikTok emphasized that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored on U.S.-based servers operated by Oracle, with content moderation decisions affecting U.S. users also made within the country.

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The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.

TikTok has challenged the law, claiming it violates the company’s free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.

The court will hold oral arguments on September 16, just weeks before the November 5 presidential election.

The law also restricts app stores like Apple’s and Google’s from offering TikTok and bars internet hosting services from supporting the app unless ByteDance divests.

The measure was passed by Congress over concerns that China could access or misuse data on American users.