A federal appeals court on Friday left in place a mid-January deadline in a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting a request made by the company to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge of the statute.
Attorneys for TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
TikTok is also looking for a potential lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who promised to “save” the short-form video platform during the presidential campaign.
The Justice Department had opposed TikTok’s request for a pause, saying in a court filing this week that the parties had already proposed a schedule that was “designed for the precise purpose” of allowing Supreme Court review of the law before it took effect.
The appeals court issued its Dec. 6 ruling on the matter in line with that schedule, the Justice Department filing said.
On Friday, a federal appeals court denied TikTok’s request to halt enforcement of a federal law that requires the company to be sold or face a ban in the United States until the Supreme Court considers its challenge to the statute, leaving in place a deadline of mid-January.
It is anticipated that TikTok’s and its parent company ByteDance, based in China, will file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
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Legal experts have stated that they anticipate the justices to weigh in because of the novel questions the case raises regarding social media, national security, and the First Amendment, but it is unclear if the country’s highest court will take up the case. A possible lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who pledged to “save” the short-form video platform during the presidential campaign, is also sought after by TikTok.
TikTok and ByteDance’s lawyers had asked for the injunction following a three-judge panel on the U.S. S. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the United States. S. . government and turned down their legal challenge.
On Friday, the court dismissed that request, stating that it was “unwarranted.”. “”.
“The petitioners have not cited any instance where a court has prevented an Act of Congress from taking effect while a Supreme Court review is being sought after dismissing a constitutional challenge to the Act,” the court’s unsigned order stated.
Because of national security concerns, ByteDance must sell TikTok to an authorized buyer or risk being banned in the United States, according to the law signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year. S. .
The U. A. has stated that it believes TikTok poses a threat to national security since ByteDance might be forced to turn over U.S. A. for Beijing’s benefit, alter user information or platform content. TikTok has refuted those allegations and maintained that the government’s argument is based on assessed future risks rather than validated facts.
Attorneys for TikTok and ByteDance had requested in the request this week a “modest delay” in the law’s implementation so that the Supreme Court could consider the case and the incoming Trump administration could “determine its position” on the issue.
The well-known app will shut down by January, according to the two companies, if the law is not overturned. 19, the day before Trump returns to office. According to the companies, the impact would be felt by over 170 million American users.
The Justice Department had resisted TikTok’s pause request, stating in a court filing this week that the parties had already put forward a schedule “designed for the precise purpose” of permitting Supreme Court review of the law prior to its implementation.
It was the appeals court’s Dec. According to that schedule, the Justice Department filed a 6 ruling on the case.
