TikTok takes U.S. to court over divest-or-ban bill
TikTok sued to block the law that would force the application to be divested from its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, or be banned from the U.S.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the U.S. government, TikTok and ByteDance argued the law, the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversaries Act, violates the First Amendment.
The law gives ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok to a new company that will be allowed to operate it in the U.S., or the app will be banned from American networks and online application stores. The president can give ByteDance an additional 90 days to sell TikTok if he determines it necessary.
But TikTok argued “qualified divestiture” is “simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally,” and it therefore would lead to a shutdown of the app in the U.S., cutting off millions of daily users.
TikTok also called out the law for singling out the app by name. While the law grants the president authority to name other applications that could fall under the same regulations, TikTok and ByteDance are the only ones specified in the measure.
Even if the sale was “feasible,” TikTok argued, the law still would be “an extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power” and set a precedent that allows the Congress to “circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down.”
Grocery delivery service Instacart is expanding into restaurant takeout, it said in a press release Tuesday. Instacart is partnering with Uber Eats, the restaurant delivery service app, for the new line of business, according to the release. It said in upcoming weeks, its customers “nationwide will be able to use the Instacart app to order from hundreds of thousands of restaurants, powered by Uber Eats.” “Through this partnership, …
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has identified and indicted a senior leader of the Russia-based LockBit ransomware group as the U.S. government continues its pursuit of those involved in the group’s cybersecurity attacks in recent years. Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev is facing 26 counts in federal court in New Jersey for his alleged role in the creation and development of the LockBit group from its beginning in September 2019 …
Meta’s Oversight Board will review three Facebook posts that included the phrase “from the river to the sea” that the social media company ruled to keep up on the platform, the board announced Tuesday. The phrase pre-dates the current conflict, but the three posts under review were published on Facebook in November, following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s military action in Gaza. The …
The online trading platform Robinhood is bracing for a potential lawsuit or administrative order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its cryptocurrency offerings. In a recent regulatory filing, the platform revealed that Robinhood Crypto, its digital currency trading operation, received a “Wells Notice” from the SEC — a formal warning of a pending enforcement action. “After years of good faith …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
OpenAI strikes deal with People magazine publisher
OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) startup behind ChatGPT, has signed a licensing deal with Dotdash Meredith, the publisher of People, Better Homes & Gardens, Investopedia, Food & Wine and InStyle, The Verge reported.
Substack courts TikTokers as app faces potential ban
Substack has launched a new program that will help turn TikTok channels into Substack shows and communities, as TikTok creators brace for a potential ban on the popular social media app, The Washington Post reported.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security will hold a hearing to “examine strengthening data security to protect consumers” on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Small Business Majority will hold a fireside chat with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
The Hill Jobs
Interested in exploring a new career? Visit The Hill Jobs Board to discover millions of roles worldwide, including:
Advisor, Policy & Supervision — Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Washington, D.C. Apply
Senior Assistant General Counsel — The Joint Commission, Washington, D.C.Apply
Executive Director of Federal Agency R&D Relations — Indiana University, Research, Indianapolis Apply
Federal Services Account Manager — Dell Technologies, Atlanta Apply
Nintendo to announce Switch successor in this fiscal year as profits rise
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese video-game maker Nintendo said Tuesday that it will make an announcement about a successor to its Switch home console sometime before March 2025. In reporting its financial results, Nintendo gave no details about the announcement, including about whether it would launch that …
NEW YORK (AP) — Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” the spring Costume Institute exhibit …
NEW YORK — Former President Trump’s hush money judge has denied the defense’s demand for a mistrial over Stormy Daniels’s salacious testimony Tuesday. … Read more
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) said Monday that she would not be testifying before a Republican-led Georgia state Senate panel investigating … Read more
You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Thanks for signing up!
Watch for us in your inbox.
Subscribe Now
The latest in politics and policy.
Direct to your inbox.
Sign up for the Technology newsletter