It has been reported that behind the passage of the TikTok ban law, the government even ignored the proposed agreement by ByteDance to give it the right to suspend the TikTok app.

by Focal Foto

The Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Powers Act (PAFACA), which restricts the use of apps managed by certain foreign companies in the United States, was enacted on April 24, 2024. In response to this, ByteDance, the Chinese company that operates the video sharing service TikTok, has filed a lawsuit in court alleging that PAFACA violates the U.S. Constitution and has filed an opening statement requesting an injunction against its enforcement.

TikTok Files Opening Brief on Unconstitutional Ban | TikTok Newsroom
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-federal-opening-brief-filing-on-ban-june-2024

2024.06.20 - TT v. Garland - [2060743] Brief of Petitioners TikTok Inc and ByteDance Ltd.pdf
(PDF file) https://sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com/obj/eden-va2/hkluhazhjeh7jr/2024.06.20%20-%20TT%20v.%20Garland%20-%20%5B2060743%5D%20Brief%20of%20Petitioners%20TikTok%20Inc%20and%20ByteDance%20Ltd.pdf

TikTok says US ban inevitable without a court order blocking law | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/tiktok-says-us-ban-is-inevitable-without-court-order-blocking-law-2024-06-20/

PAFACA is a law that prohibits the provision, operation, or updating of apps operated by companies with headquarters or principal place of business in a hostile country, or apps operated by companies directly or indirectly owned by foreign nationals of a hostile country. TikTok and ByteDance are specifically mentioned in the text, making it essentially a 'TikTok ban law.'

The PAFACA bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of House members in March 2024, and the bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously on March 21, 2024.

'Act to protect personal information from foreign hostile forces such as Russia and China' passed the House of Representatives unanimously with 414 votes to 0, a step forward in realizing the US version of GDPR - GIGAZINE

The Senate passed the bill by a majority vote on April 23, 2024. PAFACA was signed into law by President Joe Biden on the following day, April 24, and will go into effect on January 19, 2025.

In response, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, filed a lawsuit against the bill, arguing that PAFACA violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech.

TikTok sues over US ban - GIGAZINE

In its opening brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, ByteDance argues that TikTok is a unique platform for expression that already has more than 170 million American users, and that PAFACA was based on discriminatory opinions from the outset and should be subject to stricter scrutiny.

In addition, ByteDance argues that PAFACA is an unconstitutional rights-denigration statute that constitutes an 'unconstitutional taking' of property without fair compensation, and that the law's demands to separate TikTok's US operations are technically, commercially, and legally impossible.

By Anthony Quintano

ByteDance also asked the court to block enforcement of PAFACA, arguing that it has 'less restrictive alternatives to address our national security concerns,' and to consider the settlement it has negotiated with the government.

As alternatives, ByteDance has submitted to the government, it has listed the following: 'Establish a new organization called TikTok US Data Security, overseen by a special committee composed of members approved by the U.S. government;' Voluntarily implement security measures that have already cost the company $2 billion (approximately 320 billion yen); 'Involve a trusted third party, such as storing U.S. users' data in Oracle's cloud environment;' 'TikTok's content moderation and source code monitoring by third parties;' 'Industry-wide regulation of personal information protection and information disclosure.'

In addition, according to The Washington Post , ByteDance had proposed to 'impose a kill switch that would allow federal authorities to shut down all TikTok apps and services in the United States if they felt TikTok was a threat again. This was a huge concession, unthinkable for a social media company, but the US government ignored the proposed agreement, The Washington Post reported.

According to Reuters, President Biden plans to continue using TikTok ahead of the presidential election in November 2024.