Emergency motion: TikTok asks US court to delay the January 19 ban

ByteDance is concerned that its short-video TikTok app will be, in fact, banned on January 19 and has contacted a US appeals court, asking to delay what's coming.

The Chinese company behind TikTok has asked a US appeals court to temporarily block the law that was earlier signed by Biden. A panel of three federal appeals court judges recently delivered a unanimous decision to uphold the law.

ByteDance's new request is part of an "emergency motion", Reuters reports. That's a legal process used to quickly address urgent issues where waiting could cause significant harm.

TikTok and ByteDance filed this motion with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, explaining that if the law takes effect as planned, it would force TikTok (among the most popular apps in the US with over 170 million monthly users) to shut down just before a new presidential administration takes office. They argue this would severely harm TikTok's value, impact its investors, and hurt businesses that rely on the platform for revenue.

Personally, I think ByteDance execs are just waiting for Trump to step into office. Maybe they'll get a better chance of preserving TikTok with the new White House administration? After all, Trump did hint that he'd "save" TikTok, but I wouldn't bet that this is a promise.

However, ByteDance officials are obviously disturbed by the actions of the panel of judges from the appeals court who upheld the law, which mandates ByteDance to divest TikTok's US operations or face a ban. TikTok's legal team believes there’s a strong chance the Supreme Court might overturn this ruling. They are asking for a temporary pause to allow more time for discussion and to give the incoming administration the chance to review the situation.

The outcome of this case could depend on several factors, including whether the current administration extends the deadline or if ByteDance can show it has made significant efforts to sell TikTok’s US operations.

TikTok also warned that banning the app in the US would disrupt services for millions of users globally and halt critical support operations provided by American companies. This law could have broader implications, as it grants the US government significant authority to ban other foreign-owned apps that might pose risks to user data.