TikTok claims Biden-Harris admin has no evidence platform is security risk with CCP backdoor

As TikTok continues its legal battle against the US government, the company has argued that federal authorities lack concrete evidence to prove the app poses a security risk due to its ties to China. The social media platform has also argued that a ban on the app in the US would amount to “the most sweeping speech restriction in the country’s history.”

In a court filing on Thursday, TikTok sought to block the implementation of a law that would shut down its US operations unless it divests from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. This law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, has been defended by the Justice Department as necessary for national security. The government has argued that the app could be weaponized by the Chinese government to spread propaganda among American users and collect personal information and data.

TikTok has countered these claims, asserting that the US government is unfairly singling out the company without legitimate evidence to support concerns over Chinese influence. 

“The government cites no evidence of this supposed Chinese control—and its contention is flatly wrong,”  said TikTok attorney Alex Berengaut in the filing to the Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.

The Justice Department's evidence supporting the law includes sections redacted due to the classified nature of the information regarding TikTok. In a separate filing on Thursday, the department requested that this evidence remain sealed and unavailable to the public, arguing that it contains sensitive information.

“The government is not trying to litigate in secret, but rather to litigate in public to the greatest extent possible, while still providing the Court with access to the classified information that informed the government’s national-security judgments that are central to this litigation,” Justice Department lawyers claimed.

ByteDance has maintained that while it is TikTok's parent company, the US version of the app is overseen by the American-based tech company Oracle. Additionally, ByteDance claims to have implemented a firewall plan to prevent access to user data in an effort to alleviate national security concerns, according to NPR.

The ban is set to take effect on January 19, 2025, unless it is successfully challenged in court. A three-month extension would be granted if negotiations for a sale to an American company are underway.