"Delay Until Trump's Inauguration"... TikTok Requests Injunction Against 'Business Ban' Enforcement

The TikTok side, facing a ban on its business in the U.S. due to the enactment of the so-called 'TikTok Ban Act,' has requested the court to suspend the enforcement of the law until the federal Supreme Court makes a decision. Donald Trump, the U.S. president-elect who opposed the TikTok Ban Act during the election period, intends to buy time until the final decision is made.

According to major foreign media such as The New York Times (NYT) on the 9th (local time), TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance submitted a provisional injunction petition to the U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals with this content. ByteDance requested the appeals court to decide on the suspension of the law's enforcement by the 16th. This provisional injunction application came after the same appeals court on the 6th dismissed ByteDance's claim that the TikTok Ban Act was unconstitutional and ruled it constitutional in line with the Department of Justice's position.

ByteDance's submission of the injunction petition is analyzed as an attempt to buy time to avoid business suspension for the time being. Even if they appeal to the Supreme Court, it will take at least several months until it is decided whether to hear the case.

The TikTok Ban Act, enacted in April, requires ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. business rights or suspend services in the U.S. within 270 days. The deadline for TikTok's sale is the day before President-elect Trump's inauguration next year. However, the law allows the president to extend the deadline by 90 days. ByteDance argues that the law is unconstitutional, citing the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

In the injunction petition, ByteDance argued that since President-elect Trump expressed during the election period concerns about monopoly by certain social networking services (SNS) and stated that TikTok services should continue, there is a need to suspend the law's enforcement to allow Trump time to make a decision after taking office. However, the Department of Justice stated that the appeals court should not accept ByteDance's injunction petition.

Meanwhile, considering that there are quite a few hardliners against China in Trump's second-term cabinet, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, there is also an argument that President-elect Trump may not move to save TikTok.