Banning TikTok has nothing to do with the constitutional right to free speech

After President Biden signed a law that requires ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest from the app or face a ban in the United States, TikTok CEO Shou Chew vowed to fight in court. A spokesperson for the social media company said that the law is unconstitutional because it “would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans.”

This statement betrays a misunderstanding of rights in general and constitutional rights, such as the freedom of speech, in particular.