11 December, 2024
TikTok has asked a U.S. appeals court to temporarily block a law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to divest itself of the popular video sharing service, or face a U.S. ban.
The legal request comes after the same federal appeals court last week upheld a law that forces ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or face the ban. Lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok are seeking to temporarily block the law to give the U.S. Supreme Court a chance to rule on the case.
The companies said the Supreme Court had “an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech.” They added their opinion that they expected the high court to “do just that on this important constitutional issue."
In the legal request, the companies warned that, without court intervention, the law would take effect next month leading to the closure of TikTok in the U.S. They called the service, or app, “one of the nation's most popular speech platforms,” noting it currently has more than 170 million monthly users in the U.S.
TikTok also warned that, if the law takes effect, it would affect “services for tens of millions of TikTok users outside the United States.”
The companies asked the appeals court to act on their request by December 16. They noted that President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he may try to prevent a U.S. ban on TikTok. Trump is set to take office on January 20.
A temporary block on the law could “give the incoming administration time to determine its position,” they said. The new administration's position, the companies argued, could make the Supreme Court hearing of the case unnecessary.
Unless the Supreme Court rules, a decision about whether to delay the TikTok ban would rest with President Joe Biden. He could approve a 90-day extension past January 19. However, experts have noted it is not clear whether ByteDance could meet a series of requirements needed to permit an extension.
In its ruling, the appeals court recognized that “170 million Americans use TikTok to create and view all sorts of free expression.”
Reuters news agency reports that it is not yet clear whether the Supreme Court will consider the case. But some legal experts have said the high court is likely to agree to hear it. The law is considered by some a test to see how far the U.S. government should be permitted to go in acting against technology companies using national security as a reason.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
divest – v. to sell something, especially a business or part of a business
platform – n. a kind of computer system, smartphone or social media service
determine – v. to decide something
essential – adj. necessary or needed