TikTok Creators File Suit Against U.S. Government For Bill to Ban App

Eight TikTok creators filed a suit against the U.S. government on Tuesday over a new law that would force the Chinese company owner to sell the app or face a ban in the country. They claim that the law violates the First Amendment.

In March, the US House passed a bill to ban TikTok if the social media platform doesn’t disconnect from its parent company ByteDance, considered a national security threat due to its relation with the Chinese government. But a group of TikTok creators want to stop this process. They are being represented by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, which shared a copy of the lawsuit on its website, and TikTok confirmed that it is covering the creator’s legal fees for the lawsuit.

According to the New York Times, the creators filed the suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and they represent a diverse group. Among the Tiktokers involved, the journal mentions a biblical literacy promoter, a veteran who sells ranch products, and a skincare entrepreneur.

The creators claim that they “have found their voices, amassed significant audiences, made new friends and encountered new and different ways of thinking — all because of TikTok’s novel way of hosting, curating, and disseminating speech.” They consider the U.S. government’s bill to ban the app acts as an attack on freedom of speech, depriving citizens of a special form of expression and communication.

According to Reuters, the U.S. government refused to comment. A Justice Department spokesperson said that the law considers “critical national security concerns” and that the department will defend it in court.

It’s not the first time the U.S. government has faced a lawsuit on similar grounds. In 2020, Davis Wright Tremaine also represented three TikTok creators against Trump’s order to ban the app. A Pennsylvania judge ruled in their favor, declaring the order a violation of the right to free speech. In 2023, the firm also won a case in Montana, with the judge stating that the order to ban TikTok “violates the constitution in more ways than one.”