A U.S. appeals court announced plans on Monday to conduct oral hearings on September 16 regarding legal challenges against a new law mandating ByteDance, based in China, to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 19 or face a prohibition.
On May 14, a coalition of TikTok content creators filed a lawsuit aiming to block the legislation, which could prohibit the app used by 170 million Americans, arguing it has had a “significant impact on American society.” This move followed similar legal action initiated by TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.
The upcoming session at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will place TikTok’s future in the spotlight during the final stages of the 2024 presidential campaign. Recently, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced concerns about a potential ban after joining TikTok earlier this month.
All parties involved—creators, TikTok, ByteDance, and the Justice Department—are required to submit legal briefs by Thursday, with the Justice Department’s filing due by July 26 and responses by August 15. TikTok and the Justice Department aim for a decision by December 6 to potentially seek Supreme Court review.
A third legal challenge was launched on June 6 by the Liberty Justice Center, representing BASED Politics Inc., a conservative group active on TikTok.
Enacted by President Joe Biden on April 24, the law grants ByteDance until January 19 to divest TikTok or face a ban. The White House cited national security concerns over Chinese ownership but stopped short of advocating for a TikTok ban outright.
The legislation also prohibits major app stores like Apple and Google’s Alphabet from offering TikTok and bars internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance complies with the divestiture requirement.
Driven by fears among U.S. lawmakers about potential Chinese access to American data or espionage through the app, the measure gained swift approval in Congress mere weeks after its introduction.
