TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a legal challenge against the United States on Tuesday, taking aim at a law that would force the app to be sold or face a US ban.

This comes around two weeks after President Joe Biden signed a bill giving TikTok 270 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the country.

The video-sharing platform argues that this was unconstitutional.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide," said the petition by TikTok and ByteDance.

The petition argued that the move violates the First Amendment, charging that "Congress has made a law curtailing massive amounts of protected speech."

It also said the divestiture demanded, in order for TikTok to keep running in the United States, is "simply not possible"—and not on the timeline required.

The White House can extend the 270-day deadline once, by 90 days.

During this period, the app would continue to operate for its roughly 170 million US users.

© 2024 AFP