Ex-Lawmaker Expects TikTok Divestiture Law to Win Court Challenge

August 27, 2024 by Marc Selinger|Other U.S.

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said last week he remains confident that a new law requiring China’s ByteDance to divest popular social media application TikTok will survive any legal challenges.

Gallagher, who pushed for the TikTok measure as chair of the House Select Committee on China before leaving Congress in April (see 2403050063, 2404240043 and 2403250066), told CNBC that lawmakers wrote the legislation carefully to ensure it would win a potential court case.

“We spent months and months working through a draft, inviting technical assistance and feedback from the [Biden] administration,” Gallagher said. “This was the product of multiple iterations. It was a very thoughtful process.”

TikTok asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in May to overturn the divestiture requirement, saying the law violates several constitutional provisions, including freedom of speech (see 2405070049). In an amicus brief filed in early August, the Select Committee on China insisted the law doesn’t regulate speech and instead is centered on regulating foreign adversary control (see 2408060044). An oral argument in the case is scheduled for Sept. 16 (see 2406180013).