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TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese company ByteDance, also alleges that the ban, which takes effect this Sunday, violates the constitutional right to free expression, as well as the right to a fair trial, also guaranteed by the US Constitution.
If the ban is upheld, will “irreversibly” destroy TikTok activity in the United States, where that application has 100 million users, according to demand.
In a new step in its confrontation with China, the United States decided on Friday to ban the download of TikTok and also WeChat, a platform that allows you to transmit messages and make purchases and payments, among various services. WeChat is used by 19 million people in the United States.
The measure was taken at a time when ByteDance negotiates to transfer part of its activities to a US firm.
China denounced the “intimidation” of the United States and In retaliation, it adopted a mechanism on Saturday that restricts the activities of foreign companies.
The U.S. blockade of Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok challenges free digital expression and has ramifications for the global internet ecosystem, analysts and experts say.
For some critics, the national security reasons that Donald Trump invoked are unclear, and they allege that the widespread ban on platforms raises concerns about the government’s ability to regulate the freedom of expression guaranteed in the First Amendment to the United States constitution.
“It is a mistake to think that this is (only) a sanction on TikTok and WeChat. It’s a serious restriction on First Amendment rights consecrated for American citizens and residents, ”said Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union admits that the decision raises constitutional questions and the called it “abuse of emergency powers” by Trump that creates more security problems than it actually solves.
Limited functionality
The ban that will apply from this Sunday prohibits downloading TikTok, a partner network of videos that has more than 100 million users in the United States; and WeChat, a Chinese application that, among other services, allows you to exchange messages, buy, and pay and is used by 19 million people in the United States.
WeChat functions would be affected immediately as soon as it is blocked even though some of the services could continue to function, US officials said.
TikTok will stop working on November 12, but until then US users will not be able to download their updates.
The move raises pressure on ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to reach an agreement with a US partner to ease Washington’s concerns about data security. Oracle, a Silicon Valley giant, is in talks to operate TikTok in the United States.
Fragmentation on the web
American bans would create more cracks in the global internet system by allowing governments to block services at will, according to experts.
“Trump’s decision is likely to further fragment the internet,” said Darrell West, director of the Brookings Institution’s center for technology innovation.
“It will encourage other countries to retaliate against US companies and raise its own security concerns for foreign companies. The result could be many different internets based on the country of origin, ”he added.
Adam Mosseri, an executive at Facebook-owned Instagram, voiced the same concerns. “A US ban on TikTok would be pretty bad for Instagram, Facebook, and more broadly, the entire internet.He said on Twitter.
Mosseri added that “Most of the people who use Instagram are outside the US., like most of our potential growth. The long-term costs… in countries that make aggressive demands and prohibit us in the next decade, will exceed those of currently holding back a competitor ”.
TikTok and WeChat filed lawsuits against the US measures.
Vanessa Pappas, Acting Head of TikTok, said the challenge “is certainly greater than TikTok.”
“This moment will have a profound impact on our industry and will shape the internet for years to come,” Pappas tweeted.
University of Texas constitutional law professor Robert Chesney said the lawsuits face an uphill battle as courts typically allow presidents to exercise emergency powers to impose liens.
Chesney said there are First Amendment elements in the lawsuits but bans on business transactions by tech companies are still subject to national security reviews.
“They have the right to freedom of expression but that does not give them the right to start a business using the infrastructure of the United States,” he told AFP.
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