On Aug. 5, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general urging the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to enforce a federal law that could lead to TikTok being banned in the United States. The law, passed by Congress earlier this year, mandates that Chinese-owned ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, divest its stake in the popular social media platform or face a nationwide ban.

The push to uphold the legislation comes after ByteDance and TikTok sued the federal government, challenging the ban. However, Marshall and his counterparts argue that the measure is a necessary step to protect national security and consumer privacy.

"All users of TikTok must understand that every click, location and recording is used as intelligence that we have ample reason to believe is available to the Chinese Communist Party. Americans asked for Congress to take action against this intrusion by a top foreign adversary, and Congress acted," Marshall said in a news release. "We are urging the courts to uphold the lower court's decision and enforce this critical national security law."

The coalition's brief contends that TikTok poses a significant threat, as its technology and infrastructure are reportedly accessible to the Chinese government. They argue that allowing TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. without severing ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exposes Americans to the risk of their data being exploited by a foreign adversary.

"TikTok is a valuable tool for conducting corporate and international espionage, and it may allow the Chinese Communist Party to track the real-time locations of public officials, journalists and other individuals adverse to the Chinese Communist Party's interests," the brief states.

TikTok has defended its practices, citing the First Amendment to protect its right to gather data from American users. However, the attorneys general argue that the ban does not infringe on the company's free speech rights, as it targets behavior that poses a serious threat to national security rather than expressive activity.

The coalition, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, includes attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.