TikTok is still fighting for its life in U.S. courts

We’ve been living in a country where TikTok is at risk of getting banned if it is not divested by its parent company. Honestly, I just wanted a new version of Vine. Why is everyone trying to take away my funny little videos from me?

ByteDance is the Chinese parent company of the app, and a bill was signed into law earlier this year that gives the company a chance to sell the social media platform. If they do not do so, TikTok would be banned in the United States. This week, TikTok is fighting for the chance to keep the social media app in the United States without a change in its parent company. TikTok is arguing that the requirements given to them to divest from ByteDance are not “viable.”

The app is also claiming that the ban violates Americans’ right to free speech. If they fail in their current court battle, the app could be banned as soon as January.

The entire case is odd. Not only is the ban backed by both Republicans and Democrats, but it is historically rare for the government to target a single company with Chinese ties. Since the ruling earlier this year, ByteDance and TikTok have sued in an effort to block the law. The current case happening in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will allow federal judges to weigh the claims against the law.

The entire situation is odd, especially since the campaigns for both Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance have leaned into using the app as a way of targeting younger voters. So they’re … using the thing they want banned?

How can politicians reap the benefits of the app they’re trying to take out?

People much smarter than I am have said that there is little proof of a “security risk” to our nation because of TikTok. I trust those people over my own opinion on this situation, but even if there was some kind of risk, wouldn’t it then be odd to have political campaigns using this “risky” app for their own benefit?

“It has grown enormously, to the point where it’s among the most dominant forms of communication in the election,” said James Haggerty, an attorney who is well versed in these issues. “Even as the government is trying to ban TikTok, those who run the government, that is politicians, are squeezing every last drop out of it.”

As of right now, it is believed that the case will go on to the Supreme Court eventually. The entire situation is strange, especially given how the platform is currently being used by politicians. But until we know more, TikTok is fighting against the government’s claims, and if they fail, they have until January to find a buyer or we might be out of the app forever, and I don’t want that to happen. How will I know about the Care Bear method?