TikTok Sues to Block U.S. Ban: Read the Lawsuit

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block the newly passed law that would ban the popular social media app in the U.S. unless its Chinese owner sells it.

The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, argues the law is a violation of Americans' First Amendment right to free speech. It also claims the provision that requires ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok's U.S. operation within nine months is not "commercially, technologically, or legally feasible."

The lawsuit was widely expected after President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 24. That began the nine-month countdown — which could be extended three months by the White House as progress is being made — for ByteDance to find a buyer for the app used by some 150 million Americans.