(Bloomberg) — China-based ByteDance Ltd. asked an appeals court to speed up its case challenging a U.S. law that would force it to sell the video-sharing app TikTok or face a ban.
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“Prompt consideration of these cases is necessary to avoid irreparable harm,” lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok said Friday in a filing in the federal appeals court for the District of Columbia.
The company was joined in its request by eight TikTok creators who filed a separate lawsuit to block the law that would ban the platform in the US if ByteDance doesn’t divest the app by January 19. President Joe Biden signed the measure into law in April to address national security concerns about the Chinese government accessing user data and influencing US citizens through the platform.
The legal battle, which pits free speech rights against national security interests, is expected to be prolonged, with the case potentially reaching the US Supreme Court. If the D.C. Circuit expedites the case and the Supreme Court accepts it, there could be a ruling by the second quarter of 2025, said Matthew Schettenhelm, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
TikTok urged the appeals court to rule on the merits of the case by December 6, so there is enough time to request an emergency review from the Supreme Court.
In its complaint, TikTok alleged that the law is unconstitutional because it violates freedom of expression rights.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single named speech platform to a permanent national ban and prohibits all Americans from participating in a unique online community of more than 1 billion people around the world,” according to the 67-page lawsuit.
TikTok also said that a “qualified divestment” as provided for in the law was not viable. “And certainly not within the 270-day period required by law,” according to the complaint.
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