TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit in federal court in the United States on Tuesday, seeking to overturn a law signed by President Joe Biden that would require the divestment or prohibition of the short video app used by 170 million Americans.

The corporations filed their action in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming that the statute violates the U.S. Constitution for various reasons, including violating First Amendment free speech protections.

Biden signed the measure on April 24, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the firms claim in their case.

The lawsuit stated that the divestment “is simply not possible: not commercially, technologically, or legally.” There is little doubt that the Act (law) will compel the 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.”

The White House has stated that it wants to restrict Chinese ownership for national security reasons, not a ban on TikTok. The White House and the Justice Department have declined to comment on the case.

TikTok’s political uncertainties

The complaint is TikTok’s latest measure to stave off efforts to shut it down in the United States. Competitors like Snap and Meta seek to profit from TikTok’s political uncertainties and steal advertising dollars from its competitors.

Driven by concerns among U.S. senators that China may use the app to acquire data on Americans or spy on them, the bill was passed by Congress overwhelmingly just weeks after it was presented.

TikTok has denied sharing U.S. user data and accused American politicians of raising “speculative” fears in the case.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the lead Democrat on a House Committee on China, stated that the proposal is “the only way to address the national security threat posed by ByteDance’s ownership of apps like TikTok.”

“Instead of continuing its deceptive tactics, it’s time for ByteDance to start the divestment process,” he stated.

The rule prevents app stores such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google from supplying TikTok and internet hosting providers from supporting It unless ByteDance divests by January 19.

The suit stated that the Chinese government “has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is critical to TikTok’s success in the United States.”

Conflicts between the United States and China

The firms urged the D.C. Circuit to prevent U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from executing the statute, arguing that “prospective injunctive relief” is necessary.

According to the lawsuit, global institutional investors such as BlackRock, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group hold 58% of ByteDance, while the company’s Chinese founder owns 21%, and employees, including around 7,000 Americans, own another 21%.

The four-year battle over TikTok represents a crucial battleground in the ongoing conflict between the United States and China over the internet and technology. In April, Apple announced that China had asked to remove Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China because of national security concerns.

According to the lawsuit, TikTok spent $2 billion on steps to secure U.S. users’ data and made additional pledges in a 90-page draft National Security Agreement established through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

According to the claim, TikTok agreed to a “shutdown option” under which the U.S. government could stop TikTok in the U.S. if it violated specified requirements.

According to the lawsuit, CFIUS discontinued significant conversations concerning the transaction in August 2022, and in March 2023, CFIUS “insisted that ByteDance divest the U.S. TikTok business.”

Biden Campaign Using TikTok

CFIUS is an interagency body chaired by the United States Treasury Department that investigates foreign investments in American enterprises and real estate that raise national security issues.

In 2020, judges ruled against President Donald Trump’s attempt to prohibit TikTok and WeChat, owned by Tencent (0700. H.K.).

Resides in the United States. Trump, the Republican candidate running against Democrat Joe Biden in the November 5 presidential election, has shifted course, stating he does not support a ban but that security concerns must be addressed.

If Biden believes ByteDance is progressing, he may extend the January 19 deadline by three months. According to the lawsuit, Biden’s presidential campaign’s continued usage of TikTok “undermines the claim that the platform poses an actual threat to Americans.” The Trump campaign does not use TikTok.

Many experts have questioned if any potential buyer has the financial capacity to acquire TikTok and whether Chinese and U.S. government authorities would authorize a sale.

According to the lawsuit, moving the TikTok source code to the United States “would take years for an entirely new set of engineers to gain sufficient familiarity.”

Source: Reuters

DETROIT — The company’s Autopilot semi-automatic driving technology is present in more than 2 million vehicles, and federal highway safety investigators want Tesla to explain how and why it developed the repair.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States has 20 crash reports after the recall remedy was distributed as an online software update in December, raising doubts about the recall’s effectiveness.

The question of whether Autopilot should be permitted to run on roadways other than limited access highways was also addressed by the recall update. Increased warnings to drivers on roads with intersections served as a remedy.

US Seeks Information From Tesla On How It Developed And Verified Whether Autopilot Recall Worked

However, investigators said they were unable to distinguish between alerts to drivers to pay attention sent before the recall and following the installation of the revised software in a letter to Tesla that was published on the agency’s website on Tuesday. The agency stated that it would assess the effectiveness of driver warnings, particularly in cases where a driver-monitoring camera is obscured.

The government focused on how Tesla employed human behavior to test the efficacy of the recall after receiving voluminous information on the company’s development of the patch.

The letter, according to Phil Koopman, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in automated driving safety, indicates that the recall was largely ineffective in resolving Autopilot issues and was instead an attempt to appease the NHTSA, which had requested the recall following more than two years of research.

Everyone watching can tell that Tesla attempted to take the least amount of action to see what they could get away with, according to Koopman. “And NHTSA needs to act quickly to prevent other automakers from releasing subpar solutions.”

Safety advocates have long feared that Autopilot was not intended for use on roads other than limited-access highways, despite the fact that it can keep a vehicle in its lane and at a safe distance from objects in front of it.

The NHTSA is reacting to lawmakers’ criticism for what they see as a lack of action on autonomous vehicles, according to Missy Cummings, a professor of engineering and computing at George Mason University and expert on automated vehicles.

“The feedback loop is functioning, despite how clumsy our government is,” Cummings stated. “I believe the leadership of the NHTSA is now persuaded that this is an issue.”

US Seeks Information From Tesla On How It Developed And Verified Whether Autopilot Recall Worked

In an 18-page letter, the NHTSA questions Tesla on how it applied human behavior science to Autopilot’s development and how important it is to include human factors.

Additionally, it requests that Tesla list all positions involving the assessment of human behavior along with the credentials of the employees. Additionally, it queries Tesla on the status of the positions.

The Associated Press contacted Tesla early on Tuesday to inquire about the letter.

Tesla is firing about 14,000 employees, or 10% of the company, as part of a cost-cutting measure to address declining worldwide sales.

Cummings expressed her suspicion that Elon Musk, the CEO, would have fired anyone who possessed knowledge of human behavior, a critical ability required to implement partially automated systems like Autopilot, which are incapable of operating on their own and necessitate human intervention at all times.

“You better have someone on your team that knows what they are doing in that sector if you’re going to have a technology that depends upon human interaction,” she stated.

According to Cummings, her research indicates that the human brain is left with limited functions once a driving system takes over human steering. Many drivers tend to check out and rely too much on the system.

She stated, “You can be a million miles away in your head, you can have your eyes on the road, and you can have your head fixed in one position.” “You won’t be made to pay attention by all the driver monitoring technologies in the world.”

The NHTSA also requests information from Tesla in its letter regarding how the recall remedy resolves driver misunderstanding regarding whether Autopilot has been turned off if they apply force to the steering wheel. In the past, drivers might not have realized immediately that they needed to take control of the vehicle if Autopilot had been disabled.

US Seeks Information From Tesla On How It Developed And Verified Whether Autopilot Recall Worked

A feature that provides a “more pronounced slowdown” to notify drivers when Autopilot has been turned off was added to the recall. However, drivers must manually activate the function; it is not done automatically by the recall remedy. Investigators questioned how many motorists have made that move.

Telsa is requesting NHTSA. “What do you mean that even though you have a cure, it never turns on?” stated Koopman.

According to him, the letter indicates that the NHTSA is investigating whether Tesla conducted tests to ensure the changes were effective. “After examining the solution, I found it difficult to accept that numerous analyses have demonstrated that these will enhance safety,” Koopman stated.

According to the agency, Tesla also released safety improvements following the recall patch to lessen hydroplaning-related crashes and collisions in high-speed turn lanes. The NHTSA declared that it would investigate Tesla’s decision to omit the changes from the initial recall.

According to safety experts, NHTSA may pursue additional recall remedies, impose restrictions on the Autopilot operating range, or even order Tesla to disable the technology until it is corrected.

In 2021, the NHTSA launched its Autopilot investigation in response to 11 instances of Teslas hitting parked emergency vehicles while operating on Autopilot. The NHTSA stated in documents outlining the reasons for the investigation’s termination owing to the recall that it eventually discovered 467 Autopilot-related collisions that resulted in 54 injuries and 14 fatalities.

SOURCE – (AP)

NEW YORK — Opening the hush money case on Monday, with jury selection, is Donald Trump, who will become the first former president to face criminal charges.

The case would require the presumed Republican presidential nominee to balance weeks of court appearances in Manhattan to defend himself against accusations of marital infidelity that surfaced during his 2016 first campaign for president.

It is the only one of the four criminal charges against Trump that might result in a decision before voters decide in November whether to return him to the White House, and it has significant political repercussions.

The following information pertains to the charges against Trump and the hush money case:

The former president is charged with fabricating internal Trump Organization documents as part of a plot to suppress negative news that he believed would harm his candidacy in 2016. This accusation is especially serious given that, at the time, Trump’s remarks about women were negatively impacting his reputation.

The allegations center on payments made to two women who claim to have had extramarital affairs with Trump years ago: porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Another person who claims to have information regarding a kid he believes Trump may have fathered out of wedlock is a doorman at Trump Tower. Trump claims that none of these reported sex dates are real.

The National Enquirer supermarket tabloid’s publisher paid McDougal $150,000 and Daniels $130,000 thanks to Trump’s former fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen. This is part of a dubious journalistic practice known as “catch-and-kill,” in which a publication pays for exclusive rights to someone’s story with no intention of publishing it, either as a favor to a celebrity subject or to gain leverage over the person.

Trump Will Be First Ex-President On Criminal Trial. Here’s What To Know About The Hush Money Case

Cohen was paid incentives and additional payments by Trump’s company, according to the prosecution, and all of these payments were fraudulently recorded in Trump Organization records as legal fees. Cohen has separately entered a guilty plea to breaking federal campaign finance law in relation to the payments.

Thirty-four felony counts of manipulating business records are brought against Trump. The charge carries a maximum four-year prison sentence; however, the judge will ultimately decide whether or not he serves time in prison if found guilty.

The counts are connected to many checks issued to Cohen as payment for his assistance in clearing Daniels’ debt. These payments, spread over a year, were noted in several internal business documents as legal costs.

Prosecutors must prove that Trump intended to commit or hide a second crime in addition to falsifying or causing business records to be filed falsely, which would be a misdemeanor, to prevail on the felony accusation.

Although the additional offense was not included in Trump’s indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has subsequently stated that evidence indicates his activities were intended to hide tax and campaign finance violations on both a state and federal level. Some experts say it’s an unconventional legal tactic that can backfire.

Judge Juan M. Merchan will summon a large number of people into his courtroom to start the process of selecting 12 jurors plus 6 alternates. The goal is to exclude candidates who cannot serve due to suspected prejudices or other reasons. Before sending groups of the remaining jurors into the jury box to answer 42 questions, the judge stated that he would excuse anyone who showed by a show of hands that they could not serve or be fair and impartial. The only way potential jurors will be identified is by number since the judge has mandated that only prosecutors, Trump, and their legal teams will be aware of their identities.

Trump Will Be First Ex-President On Criminal Trial. Here’s What To Know About The Hush Money Case

Potential jurors will be questioned about a variety of topics, including whether they follow the former president on social media, whether they have ever worked for a Trump organization or attended a rally, and whether they support or follow far-right organizations or groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, whose members were part of the pro-Trump crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, or the far-left group known as Antifa, which stands up to fascists and neo-Nazis, especially during demonstrations.

Given that he was the one who oversaw the payoffs, Cohen—a former Trump supporter turned critic—is anticipated to be a crucial prosecution witness. Cohen stated that his objective was “to tell the truth” and that he is not seeking retribution, but he did state that Trump “needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds” before testifying before the grand jury that delivered the indictment last year. After entering a guilty plea in 2018 to federal charges involving violations of campaign finance laws for orchestrating the payments to Daniels and McDougal, Cohen was sentenced to prison.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is one of the other anticipated witnesses. Daniels claims that in 2006, she had an unwanted but consenting sexual encounter with Trump. Trump claims it never took place.

Trump has blasted the lawsuit as an attempt to harm his chances of winning the presidency in 2024 and denied any wrongdoing. Trump has admitted to paying Cohen back and stated that the purpose of the payment was to prevent Daniels from disclosing the alleged encounter to the public. However, Trump claimed in 2018 that it was unrelated to the campaign.

It is probable that the legal team representing Trump would attempt to discredit prosecution witnesses like Daniels and Cohen to attack the case. In an attempt to circumvent the judge’s gag order, Trump called the two of them liars. This aims to reduce the president’s divisive remarks regarding the case. To try to convince jurors that Cohen cannot be believed, Trump’s attorneys are anticipated to portray Cohen as a con man and bring up his conviction for several federal offenses in addition to his disbarment.

Recently, Trump shared a photo of Daniels’s 2018 written statement on social media, in which she denied having a sexual relationship with him. Daniels quickly denied making the claim and admitted to having a sexual encounter. She claimed that a non-disclosure agreement was the reason for her denials and that she felt compelled to sign the statement because the individuals concerned “made it seem like I had no choice.”

Trump Will Be First Ex-President On Criminal Trial. Here’s What To Know About The Hush Money Case

Due to court battles and appeals, Trump’s three other criminal matters will likely remain unsettled until after the November election.

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election interference case is still pending, as President Trump continues to argue that his conduct inside the White House exempts him from prosecution. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on the case in late April.

In his other lawsuit, Smith is accused of illegally keeping secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Although the trial was supposed to start in May, the court still needs to set a new trial date after hearing arguments last month.

The Georgia lawsuit, which charges Trump and his associates of plotting to reverse their loss in the state’s 2020 election, has to schedule a trial. Lawyers are now asking an appeals court to examine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the prosecution due to a romantic relationship she had with a former top prosecutor who withdrew from the case, despite the prosecution’s suggestion that the trial takes place in August.

Trump has entered a not guilty plea in all three cases and maintained his innocence.

SOURCE – (AP)