(NEWSnet/AP) – TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have sued the U.S. government to challenge a law intended to force the sale of the app or face a national ban, on the claim the law is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, was expected.

TikTok, an app where users share short-form vertical videos, alleged the law, is “obviously unconstitutional,” noting that supporters have tried to present the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act as a regulation of TikTok’s ownership rather than an outright ban.

President Joe Biden signed the law when it was bundled as part of a larger $95 billion foreign aid package. The law requires TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, to sell the platform within nine months. If a sale is already in progress, the company will get another three months to complete the deal.

ByteDance has said it “doesn’t have any plan to sell TikTok.”

But even it wanted to divest, the company would have to get a blessing from Beijing, which previously opposed a forced sale of the platform and has again signaled its opposition this time around.

U.S. lawmakers from both parties, as well as administration and law enforcement officials, have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data or sway public opinion by manipulating the algorithm that populates users’ feeds.

Some have also pointed to a Rutgers University study that maintains TikTok content was being amplified or underrepresented based on how it aligns with the interests of the Chinese government, which the company disputes.

Opponents of the law argue that Chinese authorities - or any nefarious parties - could easily get information on Americans in other ways, including through commercial data brokers that rent or sell personal information.

They note the U.S. government hasn’t provided public evidence that shows TikTok sharing U.S. user information with Chinese authorities, or tinkering with its algorithm for China’s benefit.

They also say attempts to ban the app could violate free speech rights in the U.S.

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