ByteDance and its popular short-video app TikTok have filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to temporarily block a law that would require parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19 or face a ban. The companies are seeking to pause the enforcement of the law pending a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The motion, filed on Monday, warns that without the court’s intervention, the law would take effect, effectively shutting down TikTok—one of the nation’s most popular speech platforms—for its more than 170 million domestic monthly users on the eve of a presidential inauguration.
On December 6, a three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the law mandating ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States by early next year or face a ban in just six weeks.
Lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok argue that there is a significant chance the Supreme Court will take up the case and reverse the lower court’s decision, warranting a temporary pause to allow for further deliberation. They contend that the delay “will give the incoming administration time to determine its position—which could moot both the impending harms and the need for Supreme Court review.”
The companies also noted President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to prevent a ban, suggesting the delay would allow the incoming administration to assess the situation.
The Justice Department has urged the appeals court to promptly deny the request “to maximize the time available for the Supreme Court’s consideration” of petitions from ByteDance and TikTok. TikTok has requested the appeals court to decide on the motion by December 16.
Unless the Supreme Court reverses the decision, TikTok’s fate lies first in the hands of President Joe Biden, who has the authority to grant a 90-day extension of the January 19 deadline to force a sale, and then of Trump, who takes office on January 20.
TikTok warned that the court ruling would interrupt services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States. The app stated that hundreds of U.S. service providers that enable maintenance, distribution, and updating would not be able to provide support for the TikTok platform starting January 19.
Reference(s):
ByteDance, TikTok seek to pause U.S. ban pending Supreme Court review
cgtn.com
