Long road ahead for US to ban Tik Tok

Any attempt to block app would face legal hurdles and could be unconstitutional, say experts

- Charissa Yong

WASHINGTON - The United States Congress may have shown its strong desire to ban viral video platform TikTok in the US over national security concerns, but any such attempt would face legal challenges and have a long road ahead of it, said legal experts.

Congressmen who called for a ban as they grilled TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi at a hearing on Thursday said the sticking point was TikTok being owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

They said that particular corporate structure would render any security measures moot due to Chinese laws obliging companies to hand over user data to the government, posing national security risks for the US amid soaring tensions with China.

But whichever route Washington takes to restrict the app, whether it is through new legislation or using the President's existing powers, the government would have to prove that a ban or forced sale is appropriate and does not violate freedom of speech.

"The President has limited power to respond to national security emergencies, which he could seek to use to impose a TikTok ban. Federal courts may not be convinced that there isn't a better way to protect national security than to ban a massively popular speech platform," said Georgetown University's Professor Anupam Chander, an expert in global regulation of new technologies.

He noted that in 2020, when the Trump administration defended in court its attempt to ban TikTok on the basis of national security threats, the courts responded that the threats were merely hypothetical and that they could be addressed differently.