(NewsNation) — Eight TikTok content creators sued the U.S. government on Tuesday over a new federal law that would ban the popular social media platform nationwide unless its China-based parent company sells its stake within a year. A new objection was filed.
Brian Firebaugh, one of the TikTok creators involved in the lawsuit, joined “NewsNation Now” to talk about how the lawsuit and TikTok's ban will affect him, and how his livelihood depends on the platform. He said it depends on.
“What this really impacts is the fact that TikTok is such a huge marketing platform for us and 99% to 100% of our customers come directly from that app. So if you take that away; It basically wipes out my entire customer base, my ability to talk to them,” Firebaugh said.
Lawyers for creators argue in the lawsuit that the law violates users' First Amendment rights to free speech, a claim made by TikTok in a separate lawsuit the company filed last week. It's the same as Legal challenges could reach the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department said the bill that could ban TikTok “addresses serious national security concerns consistent with the First Amendment and other constitutional restrictions.” Ta. We look forward to defending this bill in court. ”
“They're saying this is a national security threat. If that's the case, why is the leader of the free world on TikTok? His entire campaign is advertising on TikTok, and he's… “I have never considered this to be a national threat because they are very active on TikTok,” Firebaugh said. “I'm sure most Americans would stand up and say, 'By no means, let's ban this.' But they haven't shown a shred of evidence that this is actually happening.”
The federal law comes at a time when the United States and China are at loggerheads strategically over a number of issues, and the two countries are at odds over sensitive geopolitical topics, including China's support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. lawmakers and government officials have expressed concerns about how well TikTok protects users' data from Chinese authorities, saying its algorithms could be used to spread pro-Beijing propaganda. However, TikTok disputes this.
