The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to reject TikTok’s bid to put a law that could ban the app on hold while it appeals to the Supreme Court.
The law, which requires TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban on Jan. 19, was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week.
The DOJ argued that TikTok simply rehashed claims that the appeals court has already rejected, and failed to show why it should block the law from going into effect as Congress intended.
It also emphasized that the two sides agreed to a schedule that would allow time for TikTok to make a similar request to the Supreme Court.
“Petitioners are entitled to ask the Supreme Court to enjoin the law’s application pending that Court’s review, and they expressly reserved their right to do so and set a schedule that would allow time for it,” the government wrote.
“They are not entitled, however, to an injunction against an Act of Congress when the only court to consider their constitutional challenge has rejected it,” it continued. “The Supreme Court can decide for itself whether the statute must be enjoined.”
A three-judge panel with the D.C. Circuit ruled against TikTok last Friday, finding that the law does not violate the First Amendment.
TikTok asked the court Monday to put the law on hold while it appeals to the Supreme Court, arguing that the law would shut down the app for its 170 million U.S. users on the “eve of a presidential inauguration.”
“Before that happens, the Supreme Court should have an opportunity, as the only court with appellate jurisdiction over this action, to decide whether to review this exceptionally important case,” TikTok wrote.
The divest-or-ban law moved rapidly through Congress earlier this year, passing both chambers with large bipartisan majorities. It was signed into law by President Biden in April.
However, it remains to be seen what President-elect Trump may do when he takes office next month. During the campaign, Trump opposed the law, arguing that it would benefit large platforms like Facebook, and vowed to “save TikTok.”
In an interview over the weekend, though, the president-elect appeared noncommittal about taking steps to protect the app.
“I’m going to try and make it so that other companies don’t become an even bigger monopoly,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
