The TikTok Ban Is an Egregious Assault on Free Speech
Last week, Joe Biden signed a bill that will force Chinese-owned TikTok to be sold to a US company or be banned in the US. It’s an attack on free speech — aimed at, among other things, suppressing criticism of Israel’s genocide.

The TikTok app is displayed on an iPhone screen on April 24, 2024. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
Nearly half of the US population uses TikTok. It’s the most downloaded app in the country and the world. And last Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed its ban into law.
Members of Congress backing the anti-TikTok bill from both sides of the aisle have tried to emphasize that it’s “not a ban” — it’s a forced sale. The “ban” requires Chinese tech company ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell the app to a US-based company within twelve months or the app will be banned in the United States.
ByteDance has responded saying that it will refuse to sell, and that it will instead fight the ban in court. ByteDance believes it can win the court case, based on precedent from federal courts blocking an attempted ban in Montana in November 2023. Former president Donald Trump also tried to ban TikTok twice by executive order when he was in office; those efforts were struck down by the courts too.