TikTok And ByteDance Ask US Court To Reject Application For Secret Evidence By Justice Department

JAKARTA - TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, filed a request to the US appeals court on Monday, August 5 to reject a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file part of a secret legal case. The request relates to legislation seeking to force the divestment of TikTok assets in the US before January 19 or implementing a ban.

The Department of Justice (Department of Justice) requested court approval to "submit more than 15% of their memory and 30% of their evidence in secret," said ByteDance and TikTok. If they "cannot review government evidence," they stated, "they will not be able to refute arguments that are factually incorrect -- let alone explain to the court why government arguments and evidence are not legally adequate."

TikTok said if the court disagreed to reject the evidence, the court should appoint a district court judge as a special supervisor "to assess the contents of classified filings and the government's need for confidentiality."

The Justice Department, which did not immediately comment, last month asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to support a law passed in April. The department also submitted classified documents to the court detailing additional security concerns regarding ByteDance's ownership of TikTok, as well as a broader statement from the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the DOJ's National Security Division. However, TikTok wants the court to reject the secret filing.

The Justice Department argued that TikTok under Chinese ownership poses a serious threat to national security as its access to extensive personal data from Americans, stating that China can secretly manipulate information consumed by Americans through TikTok.

Administration Joe Biden asked the court to reject a lawsuit from TikTok, ByteDance, and a group of TikTok content creators seeking to block a law that could ban apps used by 170 million Americans.