TikTok disputes U.S. claims on China ties in court appeal

TikTok told a federal appeals court that the U.S. Department of Justice has mis-stated the social media app’s ties to China.

TikTok told a federal appeals court on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice has mis-stated the social media app's ties to China, urging the court to overturn a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. assets or face a ban.

TikTok, which has sued to overturn the law, said the Justice Department has made factual errors in the case. The department's lawyers said last month that the app poses a national security risk by allowing the Chinese government to collect the data of Americans and covertly manipulate what content they see.

TikTok said on Thursday it is undisputed that the app's content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the U.S. on cloud servers operated by Oracle and that content moderation decisions that affect U.S. users are made in the U.S.

Signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, the law gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. The White House says it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds, but not a ban on TikTok.

(Unravel the complexities of our digital world on The Interface podcast, where business leaders and scientists share insights that shape tomorrow’s innovation. The Interface is also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)

The appeals court will hold oral arguments on the legal challenge on September 16, putting the issue of TikTok's fate into the final weeks of the November 5 presidential election.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has joined TikTok and said in June he would never support a TikTok ban.