TikTok Files Emergency Petition To Prevent US Ban

December 10, 2024 EMMANUEL ADEBAYO AJIBOLA

TikTok has requested the court for an urgent directive petition to avoid being banned next month in the US.

The US government had passed a law demanding that TikTok be sold or prohibited because it is alleged to be linked to the Chinese government, which TikTok and its parent company denied.

However, after losing its appeal against the law on Friday, TikTok announced plans to escalate the case to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the company and ByteDance have requested a temporary block on the law to allow the Supreme Court more time to review the issue.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has called for the petition to be dismissed, stating that its underlying arguments have already been “definitively rejected.”

TikTok and ByteDance stated that an appeal is also justifiable since Donald Trump is about to take over office from Joe Biden as president.

And Trump has previously stated that he would change/repeal the law.

TikTok and ByteDance stated during their emergency legal filing, “The public interest favours providing sufficient time for the Supreme Court to conduct an orderly review process and for the incoming administration to evaluate this exceptionally important case.”

TikTok added that even a temporary ban in early 2025 would have “devastating effects” on its operations.

In its filing, the company argued that such a ban would cause “inflicting irreparable injury by silencing petitioners and the 170 million Americans who use the platform each month.”

TikTok also explained the potential loss of revenue and the departure of users and creators who make content for the platform.

However, on Friday, judges defended the law, rejecting claims that it was unconstitutional. They described it as the result of “extensive, bipartisan action” by lawmakers.

The court further stated that the law was “carefully crafted to address control by a foreign adversary” and was part of broader efforts to counter what was described as a “well-substantiated national security threat” from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).