Is the banning of TikTok in U.S. violation of 1st Amendment? [Video]

Congress is moving toward a vote that would effectively ban the popular social media video platform TikTok in the United States.

Leaders have expressed concerns about how the service handles personal data, and if its parent company, ByteDance, shares that data with the communist Chinese government.

They have also raised concerns that the app promotes viewpoints beneficial to China, and suppresses criticism of the communist government.

The U.S. and many state governments have banned the app from government-owned devices as a result.

But does a blanket ban on the app run afoul of First Amendment protections?

Josh Blackman, Constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, says not really.

“The bill doesn’t actually ban TikTok in America,” said Blackman. “You can still go to TikTok.com and view al of your favorite videos.”

The bill only bans the TikTok app for smart devices from services like the …