TikTok, DOJ seek expedited court ruling on the US ban

A ruling in the TikTok vs. US government case might be issued before the end of this year. All involved parties, including TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), have reportedly requested a US appeals court to expedite the case. They want the court to set a fast-track schedule and announce its ruling by December 6, 2024. This will give ByteDance sufficient time to seek Supreme Court review if needed.

TikTok wants fast-tracked ruling on its lawsuit against the US government

Earlier this month, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the US government over the newly passed law aiming to ban the app in the country over security concerns. The bill, which received an overwhelming majority during the representative voting in the House and Senate, was signed into law by President Joe Biden within a few weeks. It gives ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to either sell TikTok’s US arm or face a nationwide ban.

TikTok is expectedly unhappy about it and has challenged the law in court, calling it “unconstitutional”. A group of US-based TikTok creators have also filed a lawsuit against the US government over the potential ban. They say the law violates their First Amendment rights and will “shutter a discrete medium of communication that has become part of American life.” The creators have labeled the proposed ban an “extraordinary restraint on speech.”

All the parties have now asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to announce its ruling on the case by December 6. They requested the court to schedule the case for oral arguments at the earliest practical date during the September case calendar. The Justice Department plans to secretly provide the court with classified material to support its claims that TikTok is a national security threat to the country.

TikTok might turn to the Supreme Court if needed

If the initial ruling goes against it, TikTok will probably turn to the Supreme Court. An expedited ruling by the first week of December will enable it to seek timely review from the Supreme Court. Time will tell what the future holds for the US arm of the video-based social media platform. “In light of the large number of users of the TikTok platform, the public at large has a significant interest in the prompt disposition of this matter,” the Justice Department and TikTok petitioners said in a statement following their request for an expedited trial.