US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr said that India’s swift and preemptive action against TikTok could be a feature that plays out in American courts as the ByteDance-owned firm is likely to challenge the US move to ban its video-hosting service.
The FCC chief highlighted the reference in an exclusive interaction with media.
His comments come close on the heels of a stringent directive issued to the popular app by US President Joe Biden.
President Biden had signed a bill that requires TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to divest ownership of the app or face the ban in the next nine to 12 months.
ByteDance said it is not considering selling the app with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew asserting that the facts and the US Constitution were on the company’s side.
TikTok’s official account on microblogging platform X (formally Twitter) has been stating that a potential ban on its app in the US would “trample the free speech” of 170 million Americans.
The FCC chief said that the First Amendment argument will not save the day for ByteDance if the matter reaches American courts. “India’s action on TikTok could very well play a role in the litigation in the US,” Carr said in his interaction with a National media agency.
“Imagine that TikTok is going to argue that this is some sort of unique American obsession with China to foresee threats that don’t exist. The fact that India, a bordering neighbour to China, has seen a similar threat from TikTok and taken similar action, is going to be potentially relevant in some of the court filings to show that this is a broad deep concern about TikTok and not simply some unique feature of America’s viewpoint on China,” he said.
According to the US Constitution, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
In a defiant message shared on TikTok, CEO Shou Zi Chew said, “Make no mistake, this is a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.” He further said that the irony is perhaps lost on the US government as the freedom of expression on the app “reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”
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