Chinese-owned TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have sued to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the sale of the app within the U.S. within a year.
The companies filed their lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, on Tuesday.
In the suit, they argued that the law violates the U.S. Constitution on several grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections.
On April 24, President Biden signed a law to ban the Chinese-owned video-streaming app unless it is sold within a year.
The law gives TikTok nine months to find a buyer, with the option of a three-month extension if a potential acquisition is in play.
In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest its assets in the country or face a ban, but some lawmakers said the time was too short.
The short video app is used by about 170 million Americans.
ByteDance has until January 19, 2024 to sell TikTok or face a ban. Biden could extend the deadline by three months if he determines ByteDance is making progress.
"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban," the companies said in the lawsuit.
The White House and U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit said the divestiture "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. ... There is no question: the Act (law) will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump was blocked by the courts in his bid to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, a unit of Tencent, in the United States.
Trump, the Republican candidate challenging the Democrat Biden in the November 5 U.S. election, has since reversed course, saying he does not support a ban but that security concerns need to be addressed.
TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, had vowed to fight the U.S. law saying, “We will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side.”
"Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere," Chew said.
"We will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side."