CDT Joins Amicus Brief in Challenge to Federal TikTok Ban
Yesterday, the Center for Democracy & Technology joined an amicus brief, led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), supporting the First Amendment rights of TikTok users in the constitutional challenge to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in TikTok v. Garland.
In the brief, EFF, CDT, Freedom of the Press Foundation, TechFreedom, Media Law Resource Center, First Amendment Coalition, and the Freedom to Read Foundation argue that the law directly restricts users’ protected speech and association and imposes a prior restraint that will make it impossible for users to speak, access information, and associate through TikTok. The brief makes clear that national security interests do not diminish protections afforded by the First Amendment and that courts must impose the same rigorous standards to laws that restrict speech. In light of the law’s sweeping ban on free expression, the coalition’s brief argues that the court should block implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.