TikTok is seeking a temporary halt to the US ban while awaiting a Supreme Court review.

(CLO) On December 9, ByteDance and TikTok asked the appeals court to temporarily block a law requiring parent company ByteDance to divest its TikTok holdings in the US by January 19, pending a review by the Supreme Court.

ByteDance and TikTok have filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, warning that if the law is not blocked, TikTok will be forced to shut down in the U.S., where it is one of the most popular platforms with more than 170 million monthly domestic users.

If the law is not blocked, TikTok could be banned in the US after six weeks, which would diminish the company's value in the eyes of ByteDance and investors, and negatively impact businesses that rely on TikTok for sales.

Photo: Reuters

On December 6, a three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the rule requiring ByteDance to divest its TikTok operations in the US by early next year or face a ban in just six weeks.

ByteDance's lawyers said the likelihood of the Supreme Court hearing the case and overturning the order is high enough to warrant a stay of execution. This delay would give the new U.S. administration time to formulate its position, potentially avoiding potential harm and reducing the need for Supreme Court intervention.

TikTok also requested that the appeals court issue a decision before December 16th to allow sufficient time for processing. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice urged the court to reject the request in order to "maximize the time the Supreme Court has to consider" ByteDance's appeal.

The appeals court's decision places TikTok's fate in the hands of President Joe Biden. His administration will have to decide whether to extend the 90-day deadline before January 19th. After that, President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20th, will have the final say. However, it remains unclear whether ByteDance can meet the requirements to trigger the extension.

Trump, who attempted to ban TikTok in 2020 but failed, declared ahead of the November election that he would not allow a TikTok ban. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Trump wanted to save TikTok but stressed the need to protect the data of American users.

In addition to TikTok, this law also grants the US government broad powers to ban foreign apps that pose a risk of collecting data from American users. Previously, in 2020, Trump's attempt to ban Tencent's WeChat was also rejected by the courts.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tiktok-xin-tam-dung-lenh-cam-cua-my-trong-khi-cho-toa-an-toi-cao-xem-xet-post324932.html