ByteDance and TikTok Request Hold on U.S. Ban While Awaiting Supreme Court Decision
ByteDance and TikTok are requesting a suspension of the U.S. ban while awaiting a review from the Supreme Court.
TroibNews 
On Monday, ByteDance and its popular short-video app TikTok filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, seeking a temporary block on a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19 or face a ban while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the matter.
The companies expressed concern that if the law takes effect, it would "shut 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."
A three-judge panel of the appeals court had previously upheld the law on December 6, mandating that ByteDance divest TikTok in the United States by early next year or face a ban in just six weeks.
The companies' legal representatives argued that the likelihood of the Supreme Court accepting the case and potentially reversing the lower court's decision is "sufficiently high to warrant the temporary pause needed to create time for further deliberation."
They also highlighted that President-elect Donald Trump has committed to preventing a ban, stating 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."
In response, the Justice Department urged the appeals court to swiftly deny the request to "maximize the time available for the Supreme Court's consideration" of petitions from ByteDance and TikTok.
TikTok requested that the appeals court render a decision on the motion by December 16.
Should the Supreme Court not reverse the previous ruling, TikTok’s future will hinge on whether President Joe Biden grants a 90-day extension to the January 19 deadline for a forced sale, followed by the administration of President Trump, who takes office on January 20.
Additionally, TikTok cautioned that the court ruling would disrupt "services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States." It pointed out that hundreds of U.S. service providers responsible for maintaining, distributing, and updating the platform would be unable to support TikTok starting January 19.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
The companies expressed concern that if the law takes effect, it would "shut 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."
A three-judge panel of the appeals court had previously upheld the law on December 6, mandating that ByteDance divest TikTok in the United States by early next year or face a ban in just six weeks.
The companies' legal representatives argued that the likelihood of the Supreme Court accepting the case and potentially reversing the lower court's decision is "sufficiently high to warrant the temporary pause needed to create time for further deliberation."
They also highlighted that President-elect Donald Trump has committed to preventing a ban, stating 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."
In response, the Justice Department urged the appeals court to swiftly deny the request to "maximize the time available for the Supreme Court's consideration" of petitions from ByteDance and TikTok.
TikTok requested that the appeals court render a decision on the motion by December 16.
Should the Supreme Court not reverse the previous ruling, TikTok’s future will hinge on whether President Joe Biden grants a 90-day extension to the January 19 deadline for a forced sale, followed by the administration of President Trump, who takes office on January 20.
Additionally, TikTok cautioned that the court ruling would disrupt "services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States." It pointed out that hundreds of U.S. service providers responsible for maintaining, distributing, and updating the platform would be unable to support TikTok starting January 19.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
