TikTok’s Tough Day in Court

Things are not looking great for TikTok. I spent the morning hearing TikTok’s lawyers present their arguments to convince a Washington appeals court that a ban would infringe on the First Amendment rights of 170 million American users, as well as creators. 

The response from the court—a panel of three judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit—was telling. They spent more time questioning TikTok lawyers than the U.S. government. And their questions for TikTok focused on national security concerns rather than the First Amendment, signaling the court may make its decision by determining whether security risks override harms to free speech.