In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said 'this unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.'
TikTok has argued that prior attempts to ban the app ran afoul of the First Amendment. US District Judge Donald Molloy wrote that TikTok 'had established a likelihood of irreparable harm' if the ban was enacted, both to the First Amendment rights of its users and to the ability of creators to make money.
Assuming the combination that the divestiture does not go through, and the app is actually banned, that means that Americans who wish to access this cannot do so... Banning the app outright would go too far, Johnson says, and 'wouldn't be a tailored response that addresses the vendors.'
In all cases, I think that where this legislation is going to fail is that it's burdening so much more speech than is necessary,' says Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU.
If TikTok or its creators were to sue the government for violating the First Amendment, experts believe they could make a solid argument.
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