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TikTok and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have requested that the review of the recently passed divest-or-pass bill have an accelerated schedule.
The bill, which will require TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance to divest all of the video-sharing platform’s assets or see the app banned in the US, is currently under review for a number of legal challenges.
The bill passed the Senate in April, signed by US President Joe Biden, addressing concerns that China would be able to monitor US TikTok users or access their data. ByteDance has until 19 January 2025 to sell the platform or see it banned for national security concerns.
If ByteDance sells the platform and it is no longer Chinese-owned, US users will be allowed to continue using the app.
However, the bill was challenged a number of times last week by a number of US TikTok creators and ByteDance themselves.
The content creators argued on Tuesday (14 May) that 170 million Americans used the platform and that the app has had a “profound effect on American life”, while ByteDance similarly argued last week that a massive proportion of Americans use the platform and that the new law would be a violation of the constitution for a number of reasons, including free speech.
“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,” said the US DOJ and those backing TikTok, as seen by CyberNews.
Both the group of content creators and ByteDance teamed with the DOJ to ask the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to seek a review of the bill if need be before the deadline, asking it to make the ruling by 6 December.
They also asked the court to allow for oral arguments as soon as possible in the September case calendar, while the DOJ said classified material may be filed in secret with the court to support the national security justifications.
TikTok said that it believes the two challenges can be resolved with a fast-track schedule and would not require it to request emergency preliminary injunctive relief.
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