21 States Join to Support Tiktok Ban

Attorney General Jason Miyares has co-led a 21-state coalition urging the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to uphold the divest-or-ban legislation passed by Congress.

Enacted earlier this year, the federal law bans TikTok in the United States unless ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, sells its stake in the platform. In response, ByteDance and TikTok filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The attorneys general are asking the court to deny TikTok’s petition, asserting that Congress has the power to act in this matter of national security and foreign affairs.

“TikTok poses a clear danger to our national security that cannot be ignored. TikTok’s data collection practices provide a pipeline of sensitive information to the Chinese Communist Party. We cannot allow a foreign government to exploit our personal information or influence our younger generation with dangerous content,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “The divest-or-ban legislation is a necessary measure to safeguard Americans, and I urge the court to uphold Congress’s actions. Protecting the privacy and security of American citizens is non-negotiable, and we will stand firm.”

TikTok poses significant threats to both national security and consumers’ privacy by indiscriminately collecting user data that could be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party, a longstanding adversary of the United States. Additionally, TikTok’s operations infringe upon Americans’ right to privacy and promote harmful content to minors. Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing its ties to the Chinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the risk of the CCP accessing and exploiting their data.

TikTok also stands as a potent tool for corporate and international espionage, offering the Chinese Communist Party the means to monitor the real-time activities of public officials, journalists, and other individuals deemed adversarial to its interests.

The Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares co-led this amicus brief with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. The following states joined Virginia and Montana’s coalition: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah.

Click here to read the brief.