Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to uphold a law that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok if the app doesn’t make security changes soon.
In a statement, Miyares – who is currently running for reelection – said the social media app exposes Americans and their data to “undeniable risks.”
“Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing its ties to the Chinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the undeniable risks of having their data accessed and exploited by the Chinese Communist Party,” Miyares said. “The Supreme Court now has the chance to affirm Congress’s authority to protect Americans from foreign threats while ensuring that the First Amendment doesn’t become a tool to defend foreign adversaries’ exploitative practices.”
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was introduced back in March, and it became law in April.
The amicus brief was co-led by Montana’s Attorney General and 20 other states signed in support of it. Sen. Mark Warner and Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Bobby Scott have supported the action against TikTok.
The law gave TikTok about nine months to sever ties with its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance. If no changes were made, a federal ban would take effect Jan. 19.
TikTok sued the U.S. government, contending that the law infringed on its free speech and that of its American users. TikTok officials also said cutting ties with ByteDance would be difficult due to how the app was built.
Earlier this month, an appeals court denied TikTok’s request to overturn the law and delay its enforcement date. The high court is scheduled to hear arguments in the appeal case Jan. 10.
