Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has spearheaded a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in urging the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to uphold the national TikTok divest-or-ban legislation passed by Congress earlier this year.
The federal law mandates that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, must either divest its stake in the platform or face a nationwide ban. ByteDance and TikTok have challenged the ban in court.
In an amicus brief filed on Friday, the coalition argues that the court should reject TikTok’s petition, asserting that Congress has the authority to address national security and foreign affairs issues. The brief contends that TikTok poses a significant threat to national security and consumer privacy, due to the company’s potential sharing of user data with the Chinese Communist Party, privacy infringements, and the risk of harmful content being promoted to minors.