A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday established an expedited timeline to review the legal challenges to a recent legislation mandating China-based ByteDance to sell off TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia directed the case to be scheduled for oral arguments in September following a joint request for a swift schedule from TikTok, ByteDance, a group of TikTok content creators, and the Justice Department earlier this month.
On May 14, a coalition of TikTok creators filed a lawsuit to block the legislation that could potentially lead to the prohibition of the app, which is utilized by 170 million Americans, citing its significant impact on American life. This lawsuit closely followed a similar action taken by TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance.
As per the appeals court’s schedule, the creators, TikTok, and ByteDance are required to submit legal briefs by June 20, while the Justice Department must do so by July 26. Reply briefs are expected by Aug. 15.
TikTok expressed confidence that with the expedited schedule, the legal challenge can be resolved without the necessity of requesting emergency preliminary injunctive relief.
The legislation, signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, mandates ByteDance to divest TikTok by Jan. 19 or face a ban. Although the White House emphasizes its desire to end Chinese-based ownership due to national security concerns, it does not advocate for a ban on TikTok.
The law prohibits app stores like Apple and Alphabet’s Google from offering TikTok and prohibits internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance divests from it.
Driven by concerns among U.S. lawmakers about potential data access by China or espionage through the app, the legislation garnered overwhelming support in Congress shortly after its introduction.
