Athira Sethu
Kochi, 10 December 2024
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has moved to have a US court for blocking a law that, if implemented, will force it to sell its US operations by January 19, 2024 or face a ban.
A group of companies asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in an urgency motion, claiming that such a law, if upheld, would lead to its shutdown, considering it boasts over 170 million users in the U.S.
TikTok is also very popular in America. This law might severely impact businesses if ByteDance has to sell the app or close it due to being forced by this law. The law was passed this week by a three-judge panel of the appeals court; however, TikTok asked the court to hold up the law till it undergoes a review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case can have important implications for the company and its users. Without a pause in the law, TikTok may be banned as early as six weeks, lessening its worth for ByteDance and investors. The companies maintain this might be unfair to the users and businesses relying on TikTok to grow. For that matter, TikTok itself pointed out that Donald Trump, who would return as president, promised to attempt to block the ban.
The Justice Department contends that the court should not stop the law so the Supreme Court can review the case as soon as possible. TikTok has asked the appeals court to decide by December 16 whether the law should be delayed.
This move might break TikTok’s service, not only to U.S. users, but to millions around the globe as well. TikTok warned it would impact U.S. companies who help to maintain and update the app.
