Washington: The repercussions of India’s decisive action against the short-form video platform TikTok may reverberate in American courtrooms, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr, as reported by popular media outlet The Economic Times.
President Joe Biden recently signed a bill into law, signaling a potential ban on TikTok in the United States if its parent company, ByteDance, fails to divest the popular app within the next nine to twelve months.
In response, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew asserted that both facts and the US Constitution support the company’s position.
TikTok’s official account on the microblogging site X emphasized that a prospective ban on its app in the US would infringe upon the free speech rights of millions of Americans, invoking the protections enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which safeguard freedom of speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for grievances.
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However, Carr dismissed the notion that invoking the First Amendment would favor ByteDance in American courts. In an interview with ET, Carr suggested that India’s actions against TikTok could significantly influence litigation in the US.
“Imagine that TikTok is going to argue that this is some sort of unique American obsession with China to foresee threats that don’t exist,” Carr commented. He further noted that India’s proximity to China and its similar concerns regarding the short video app might feature prominently in court proceedings.
Carr emphasized that India’s stance underscores a broad and deep-seated apprehension about TikTok, beyond merely an American perspective on China.
