TikTok sues America to undo divest-or-die law

TikTok and ByteDance sued the U.S. government to block H.R.7521—the divest-or-ban law—arguing it violates the First Amendment and is infeasible within the set timeline, while lawmakers cite national security risks of potential PRC influence, data access, and propaganda; civil liberties and privacy advocates contend the evidence is limited and recommend comprehensive consumer privacy legislation (e.g., the American Privacy Rights Act) over platform-specific bans, with the ODNI’s public report briefly citing reported 2022 influence efforts and past TikTok employee misuse of data noted.