‘Block TikTok Plea’, Justice Dept Tells Appeals Court

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Justice department asks US appeals court to reject TikTok’s plea to block law that would force its parent company to sell it.
• The Justice department argues that TikTok under Chinese control poses a threat to national security
• TikTok’s CEO expresses disappointment but promised to fight to protect free speech

The Justice Department has asked a US appeals late on Wednesday to reject TikTok’s plea to temporarily block a law that would require its parent firm to sell its entire stake to a US company by January 19 or face a ban.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on Monday filed the emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia pending a review by the Supreme Court.

They said that without court intervention, the law will shut down TikTok—one of the most popular speech platforms in the United States with 170 million American users.

The Justice Department said the court should not delay the law’s effectivity date, arguing that Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its chief executive officer, Shou Zi Chew, previously said that while the news was disappointing, it will continue its fight to protect free speech on TikTok.

‘Threat to Security’

The Justice department earlier said that TikTok under a Chinese ownership poses a threat due to its access to vast personal data of Americans.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called the law “a blatant act of commercial robbery” and warned that the US must handle the case in a prudent manner to avoid harming the mutual trust between the two countries and the development of bilateral relations.

The US and China have long been engaged in growing trade tensions. The latest blow came after President Joe Biden placed new restrictions on China’s chip industry and Beijing responded by imposing an outright ban on exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the US.

Unless the Supreme Court reverses the decision, TikTok’s fate would remain in the hands of Biden on whether the company would be granted a 90-day extension of the January 19 deadline to force a sale, or face its fate under president-elect Donald Trump who is set to reassume office on January 20.

It is not clear, however, whether ByteDance could meet the heavy burden to show significant progress toward a divestiture needed to trigger an extension, or if the Chinese government would green light any sale.

Trump, who failed to ban TikTok during his first term in 2020, said before the November presidential election that he would not allow the TikTok ban.

Are you a TikTok user? Tell us what you think about the US law forcing ByteDance to sell or ban TikTok through the comments.