TikTok Asks Court to Block US Ban, Seeks US Supreme Court Hearing
2024-12-12
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1TikTok has asked a U.S. appeals court to temporarily block a law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to divest itself of the popular video sharing service, or face a U.S. ban.
2The legal request comes after the same federal appeals court last week upheld a law that forces ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or face the ban.
3Lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok are seeking to temporarily block the law to give the U.S. Supreme Court a chance to rule on the case.
4The companies said the Supreme Court had "an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech."
5They added their opinion that they expected the high court to "do just that on this important constitutional issue."
6In the legal request, the companies warned that, without court intervention, the law would take effect next month leading to the closure of TikTok in the U.S.
7They called the service, or app, "one of the nation's most popular speech platforms," noting it currently has more than 170 million monthly users in the U.S.
8TikTok also warned that, if the law takes effect, it would affect "services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States."
9The companies asked the appeals court to act on their request by December 16.
10They noted that President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he may try to prevent a U.S. ban on TikTok.
11Trump is set to take office on January 20.
12A temporary block on the law could "give the incoming administration time to determine its position," they said.
13The new administration's position, the companies argued, could make the Supreme Court hearing of the case unnecessary.
14Unless the Supreme Court rules, a decision about whether to delay the TikTok ban would rest with President Joe Biden.
15He could approve a 90-day extension past January 19.
16However, experts have noted it is not clear whether ByteDance could meet a series of requirements needed to permit an extension.
17U.S. officials have long warned that TikTok presents national security concerns.
18The government accuses ByteDance of sharing user data with China's government.
19Critics have said China could also use TikTok to spread misinformation and that material published on the service can harm the mental health of young users.
20TikTok has repeatedly denied the accusations.
21In its ruling, the appeals court recognized that "170 million Americans use TikTok to create and view all sorts of free expression."
22However, it added that a divestment of the service from Chinese control was "essential to protect our national security."
23ByteDance has said it does not plan to sell TikTok.
24Technology experts have noted that even if the company did agree to sell, the deal would likely be blocked by Chinese export rules.
25However, some American investors have expressed interest in buying the company's American operations.
26They include Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt.
27Reuters news agency reports that it is not yet clear whether the Supreme Court will consider the case.
28But some legal experts have said the high court is likely to agree to hear it.
29The law is considered by some a test to see how far the U.S. government should be permitted to go in acting against technology companies using national security as a reason.
30I'm Bryan Lynn.