US Court Accelerates TikTok Sales Case By ByteDance

Illustration of TikTok creators. (photo: x @tiktokUs)

JAKARTA - The US appeals court on Tuesday, May 28 set a fast lane schedule to consider legal challenges against a new law requiring ByteDance, a Chinese-based company to release TikTok assets in the US before January 19 or face a ban on operations.

The US Court of Appeals to the District of Columbia ordered the case to be prepared for verbal arguments in September after TikTok, ByteDance, and a group of TikTok content creators joined the Department of Justice earlier this month to ask the court to set a quick schedule.

On May 14, a group of TikTok content creators filed a lawsuit to block a law that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans, arguing that the app had a "deep impact on American life". This was done after TikTok and its parent company ByteDance also filed a similar lawsuit.

Based on the schedule of appeal courts, content creators, TikTok, and ByteDance must file legal files before June 20 and the Justice Department before July 26, with reply files to be submitted before August 15.

TikTok menyatakan bahwa dengan jadwal jalur cepat ini, mereka yakin tantangan hukum dapat diselesaikan tanpa perlu meminta bantuan perintah sementara atau darurat.

TikTok and the Justice Department want a decision on December 6 in order to request a review from the Supreme Court if needed.

The law, signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face bans. The White House says it wants to see Chinese-based holdings end on national security grounds, but does not ban TikTok.

The law prohibits app stores like Apple and Alphabet's Google from offering TikTok and bans internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance releases TikTok.

This has been driven by concerns among US lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app, this move was massively approved in Congress just weeks after its introduction.