A legal faceoff between TikTok and the U.S. government over a law that could ban the social media platform in the country is pitting two major principles against each other: national security versus free speech.
In a more than two-hour appearance before a federal appeals court in Washington earlier this week, TikTok argued the U.S. law that forces the platform to sever ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban by mid-January is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
“The law before this court is unprecedented and its effect would be staggering,” Andrew Pincus, the lawyer arguing for TikTok and ByteDance, told the three-judge panel on Monday.
He warned that a ban would violate the free-speech rights of not only an American entity, but also the 170 million Americans who use the platform — including content creators and businesses that rely on TikTok for their livelihoods.
Story continues below advertisement
Daniel Tenny, an attorney for the U.S. …