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TikTok Faces Tough Questions from Court over Challenge to US Law

A view of the E. Barrett Prettyman US Court House in Washington, DC on September 16, 2024. (AFP)
A view of the E. Barrett Prettyman US Court House in Washington, DC on September 16, 2024. (AFP)
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TikTok Faces Tough Questions from Court over Challenge to US Law

A view of the E. Barrett Prettyman US Court House in Washington, DC on September 16, 2024. (AFP)
A view of the E. Barrett Prettyman US Court House in Washington, DC on September 16, 2024. (AFP)

A lawyer for TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance faced tough questions on Monday as a US appeals court heard arguments in their lawsuit seeking to block a law that could ban the short video app used by 170 million Americans as soon as Jan. 19.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia began hearing arguments in the suit filed by TikTok and ByteDance in May seeking an injunction barring the law from taking effect.

The judges questioned TikTok's outside lawyer Andrew Pincus, who argued that the US government had not demonstrated that TikTok poses national security risks and that the law violates the US Constitution on a number of grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections.

"The law before this court is unprecedented, and its effect would be staggering," Pincus told the judges, saying "for the first time in history, Congress has expressly targeted a specific US speaker, banning its speech and the speech of 170 million Americans."

The law gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell or divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban in the United States. Driven by worries among American lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app, the US Congress passed the measure with overwhelming support and President Joe Biden signed it into law in April.

The law prohibits app stores like Apple and Alphabet's Google from offering TikTok and bars internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance divests TikTok by the deadline. Under the law, Biden could extend the deadline by three months if he certifies ByteDance is making significant progress toward a sale.

Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg were hearing the arguments.

The case is playing out during the final weeks of the US presidential campaign. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival, are active on TikTok, seeking to court younger voters.

The Justice Department has said TikTok, under Chinese ownership, poses a serious national security threat because of its access to vast amounts of personal data on Americans, asserting China can covertly manipulate information that Americans consume via TikTok.

ByteDance has said divestiture is "not possible technologically, commercially or legally."

TikTok and the Justice Department have asked for a ruling by Dec. 6, which could allow the US Supreme Court to consider any appeal before a ban takes effect.

The White House has said it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds, but not a ban on TikTok. Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok in 2020, has said if elected in November he would not allow TikTok to be banned.

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As Storm Bebinca Approaches, Taiwan Uses AI to Predict Typhoon Paths 

Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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As Storm Bebinca Approaches, Taiwan Uses AI to Predict Typhoon Paths 

Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Waves break against the protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches in Keelung, Taiwan July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

As tropical storm Bebinca barrels towards waters off northern Taiwan gathering strength into a possible typhoon, weather forecasters in Taipei are using a new and so far successful method to help track its path - artificial intelligence (AI).

AI-generated forecasts, some powered by software from tech giants including Nvidia, whose chips are made by Taiwan's homegrown semiconductor champion TSMC, have so far outperformed traditional methods in predicting typhoon tracks.

In July, it was AI-based weather models, used for the first time, that helped Taiwan better predict the path and impact of Typhoon Gaemi, the strongest to strike the island in eight years that brought record-breaking rainfall.

The new technology impressed Taiwan forecasters by predicting a direct hit as early as eight days before Gaemi made landfall - handily outperforming conventional methods, which remain the mainstay of prediction planning.

"People are starting to realize AI indeed delivered some stunning performances compared to conventional models," said Chia Hsin-sing, director at the weather service provider Taiwan Integrated Disaster Prevention of Technology Engineering Consulting Company Ltd.

Bebinca is now being tracked using the same AI tools by people including Lin Ping-yu, a forecaster at Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA), who said AI has given them a higher degree of confidence there will not be a direct hit.

"This (AI) is a good thing for us. It is like having one more useful tool to use," said Lin.

The AI weather programs on offer include Nvidia's FourCastNet, Google's GraphCast and Huawei's Pangu-Weather, as well as a deep learning-based system by European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

"It is a hotly watched competition. We will know soon who is winning," said Chia.

Such AI models have also begun to be used to predict storms and hurricanes in other regions with good accuracy, according to forecasters and academics.

The AI-based software is trained using historical weather data to learn the cause and effect relationships of meteorological systems and can predict hundreds of weather variables days in advance - a process that requires only a few minutes to complete.

For all the typhoons in the Western Pacific this year up until mid-September, AI's accuracy in predicting storm tracks over a three-day window was nearly 20% higher than that of conventional models, according to data compiled by the CWA.

Ahead of Gaemi, AI helped the administration foresee an unusual loop in its path that prolonged its impact on Taiwan and prompted them to swiftly issue a rare warning for rainfall of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet), which was later proven accurate, according to CWA's deputy head Lu Kuo-Chen.

"(AI) boosted the confidence for forecasters to make that prediction," Lu said, adding the early warning gave extra time for authorities to carry out preparations.

Lu is also pinning hopes on a partnership with Nvidia, which this year announced a generative AI tool called CorrDiff that aims to forecast more precise locations of typhoon landfall and provide higher resolution images inside a storm.

"We are seeing the potential," Lu said.

For now, however, experts say the AI tools were not able to deliver quality forecasts for more detailed impact of a typhoon, such as its strength and winds, and more time is needed for the new technology to solidify its lead over more traditional ways.

"Was it just good luck?" said Chia, pointing to AI's stellar performance on Gaemi. "We need to give AI a bit more time. It is something to look forward to."