Federal Court Rejects Request For Suspension Of Ban On TikTok Applications In US

Illustration - TikTok application (photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The federal court has rejected a request by TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance to delay the implementation of a law banning TikTok from operating in the US for national security reasons.

This decision came after previously TikTok had submitted an application to temporarily suspend the implementation of the law pending further decisions from the Supreme Court.

However, a panel consisting of three judges, namely Chief Judge Srinivasan, Circuit Judge Rao, and Senior Circuit Judge Ginsburg, ruled that there is no solid legal basis for suspending the law that has been declared constitutional.

"The petitioners cannot show a legal precedent that justifies the court to suspend the application of laws that have been declared constitutional. Therefore, this application is deemed inappropriate," the US Court of Appeal wrote in its official statement.

The court also confirmed that the law had been evaluated under strict supervision, so TikTok's claim that this decision violates freedom of expression is no stronger than the concerns about national security concerns.

The decision will also pave the way for the government to continue implementing the law, allowing the ban on TikTok to take effect in the near future.

"Therefore, the court did not grant permission for a temporary delay and advised the applicants to file a direct appeal to the Supreme Court," the statement concluded.

Although TikTok could still appeal directly to the Supreme Court, the court warned that the appeal would not automatically stop the enactment of the law.