TikTok Files An Appeal To The US Supreme Court To Prevent Prohibition Of Operations

JAKARTA TikTok made its last attempt to continue operating in the United States by submitting an emergency request to the Supreme Court. This move aims to stop the implementation of a law requiring ByteDance, its parent company based in China, to relinquish ownership of the app before January 19 or face a total ban.

TikTok together with ByteDance asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary ruling to postpone the ban pending an appeal against a court decision that previously supported the law. TikTok users in the US also filed a similar request.

The US Department of Justice stated that TikTok, as a Chinese company, poses a major threat to national security because of its ability to access US user data, such as locations and private messages, as well as the potential for secretly manipulation of content.

On December 6, the US Court of Appeals to the District of Columbia rejected TikTok's argument that the law violates the protection of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

In its appeal filing, TikTok and ByteDance stated that US users should have the right to choose whether they want to stick to TikTok despite the risks alleged by the government.

"If the US people, with complete information about the alleged risks, choose to continue using TikTok, then the First Amendment guarantees their freedom to make that choice without censorship from the government," TikTok said in its document.

The company also revealed that the closure of TikTok for even a month would result in the loss of about a third of users in the US, as well as weakening its ability to attract advertisers, content creators, and talented workers.

President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in a day after TikTok's January 19 deadline, has previously pledged to try to save TikTok despite trying to ban the app in 2020.

Trump told a news conference that he has a "special place in the heart" for TikTok and will consider steps to stop the ban.

TikTok asked the Supreme Court to decide on this request before January 6 so that the company has enough time to close its operations if the request is rejected.

Disputes over TikTok are taking place amid rising trade tensions between the US and China. TikTok rejects accusations of sharing user data with the Chinese government and asserts that this law is a violation of the right to free speech.

The court previously stated that this law was made to protect free speech in the US from threats from foreign countries that are considered enemies. If enforced, this law could also open up opportunities for crackdowns on other foreign applications in the future.

In 2020, Trump had tried to ban Tencent's WeChat app, but the move was blocked by the court.