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A federal appeals court on Friday left the mid-January deadline in place in federal law TikTok be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting the company’s request to halt execution until Supreme Court is considering its challenge to the statute.
Lawyers for TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
It’s unclear whether the state’s highest court will take up the case, though some legal experts said they expect the justices to rule because of the kinds of new questions it raises about social media, national security and the First Amendment. TikTok is also looking to the president-elect for a potential bailout Donald Trumpwho promised to “save” the short video platform during the presidential campaign.
Lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance sought the injunction after a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the US government and rejected their challenge to the law.
The statute, signed by the president Joe Biden earlier this year, required ByteDance to sell TikTok to an approved buyer over national security concerns or face a US ban
The US has said it sees TikTok as a national security risk because ByteDance could be forced by Chinese authorities to hand over US user data or manipulate content on the platform for Beijing’s interests. TikTok denied the claims and argued that the government’s case was based on hypothetical future risks rather than proven facts.
In a motion filed last week, lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance asked for a “modest delay” in enforcing the law so the Supreme Court can review the case and the incoming Trump administration can “determine its position” on the matter.
If the law is not overturned, the two companies said the popular app would shut down by Jan. 19, just one day before Trump takes office again. More than 170 million US users will be affected, the companies said.
The Justice Department opposed TikTok’s request for a stay, saying in a court filing last week that the parties had already proposed a schedule that was “designed for the precise purpose” of allowing the Supreme Court to review the law before it takes effect.
On December 6, the Court of Appeal made a decision on the matter in accordance with that schedule, according to the Ministry of Justice’s submission.