David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday set an expedited timetable for legal challenges to a new law requiring Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the case will go to oral arguments in September after TikTok, ByteDance and a group of TikTok content creators joined the Justice Department earlier this month in asking the court for a speedy schedule.
On May 14, a group of TikTok creators filed a lawsuit seeking to block legislation that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans, saying it has had a “profound impact on American life” after TikTok and parent company ByteDance filed a similar lawsuit.
According to the appeals court’s schedule, the creators of TikTok and ByteDance must file legal briefs by June 20 and the Justice Department by July 26, with responses due by Aug. 15.
TikTok said that thanks to the expedited schedule, it believes the legal issue can be resolved without the need to seek an emergency preliminary injunction.
TikTok and the Justice Department requested a decision by Dec. 6 to seek Supreme Court review if necessary.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance the right to sell TikTok until January 19 or face a ban. The White House says it wants Chinese ownership to end for national security reasons, not a TikTok ban.
The law prohibits app stores like Apple (NASDAQ:) and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:) Google from offering TikTok, and internet hosting companies are prohibited from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance sells TikTok.
Due to concerns among U.S. lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them using the app, the measure passed overwhelmingly in Congress just weeks after it was introduced.