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TikTok says US ban would have ‘staggering’ impact on free speech

The US government wants TikTok sold or divested because it says it is a threat to national security.

The social media firm, which claims to have more than 170 million American users, will make its arguments before a three-judge panel at an appeals court in Washington DC. In addition to data concerns, DoJ officials and lawmakers have expressed alarm at the prospect of TikTok being used by the Chinese government to spread propaganda to Americans. "We shouldn’t be surprised if repressive governments the world over cite this precedent to justify new restrictions on their own citizens’ right to access information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Xiangnong Wang, a staff attorney at Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute.

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