TIKTOK COMPARES ITSELF TO FOREIGN-OWNED AMERICAN NEWS OUTLETS AS IT FIGHTS FORCED SALE OR BAN

TikTok pushed back against U.S. government arguments that the popular social media platform is not shielded by the First Amendment, comparing its platform to prominent American media organizations owned by foreign entities.

Last month, the Justice Department argued in a legal brief filed in a Washington federal appeals court that neither TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, nor the platform's global and U.S. arms - TikTok Ltd. and Tik Tok Inc. - were entitled to First Amendment protections because they are "foreign organizations operating abroad" or owned by one.

TikTok attorneys have made the First Amendment a key part of their legal challenge to the federal law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to an approved buyer or face a ban.

Last week, they argued in a court document that TikTok's U.S. arm doesn't forfeit its constitutional rights because it is owned by a foreign entity. They drew a parallel between TikTok and well-known news outlets such as Politico and Business Insider, both of which are owned by German publisher Axel Springer SE. They also cited Fortune, a business magazine owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon.