ByteDance may find in the Supreme Court the beacon of light it needed in the face of a potential US ban on TikTok. The company has been exhausting all possible legal remedies in recent weeks to try to turn things around. Recently, its CEO met with Donald Trump to discuss the matter. In a new development, the highest federal court in the United States is willing to hear ByteDance’s allegations.
So far, all of ByteDance’s attempts in the courts have been in vain. US judges have refused to both designate the bill as unconstitutional and offer an emergency pause on its implementation. The DOJ has been pushing for US lawmakers not to give TikTok any further opportunities to maintain its operations in the country. However, the Supreme Court has chosen to allow ByteDance to defend itself.
US Supreme Court to allow TikTok to defend its case
The Supreme Court is acting just one day after TikTok’s parent company filed its appeal, perhaps due to the short time remaining before the bill’s deadline. The judges even set January 10, 2025, as the date to hear the firm’s arguments. If you’re not aware, the “anti-TikTok” bill is set to go into effect in the United States on January 19. It requires ByteDance to sell the platform to North American owners if it wants to continue operating in the country.
Even with little time left to handle the case, the Supreme Court has not granted an injunction delaying the implementation of the law. ByteDance had requested an emergency pause before the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. However, the three judges in the case unanimously rejected it. The Supreme Court will then have to determine before the deadline whether the law goes ahead, whether it delays it, or whether it declares it unconstitutional.
One of TikTok’s main arguments against the law is a potential threat to freedom of expression. The company claims that it will impact on the platform’s roughly 170 million users in the US. This would go against the principles established by the First Amendment in the constitution, says ByteDance.
The company also doesn’t want to sell to TikTok, saying it would take other engineers too long to get used to the code. Another reason is that it doesn’t want to give away its recommendations technology that it has worked so hard to develop.
The request for an emergency pause to the implementation of the law had failed
After failing in its challenge to the law, ByteDance tried to pause its implementation. The firm argued that there is very little time left before the deadline. This will not allow the Supreme Court to handle the firm’s latest appeal. However, perhaps for this reason, lawmakers are accelerating the pace of the case.
ByteDance also said that an emergency pause was pertinent due to the impending change of administration. Donald Trump will take over the White House on January 20, one day after the implementation of the law. The new president-elect of the United States showed willingness to avoid the US ban of TikTok. However, assuming office after the law’s implementation could potentially complicate matters for him.
