China-based ByteDance asked an appeals court to speed up its lawsuit challenging a US law that would force it to sell the TikTok video-sharing app or face a ban, reports Caixin. “Prompt consideration of these cases is needed to avoid irreparable harm,” lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok said Friday in a filing in the District of Columbia federal appeals court.
The company was joined in its request by eight TikTok creators who separately sued to block the law that would ban the platform in the US if ByteDance doesn’t divest itself of the app by Jan. 19.
President Joe Biden signed the measure into law in April to address national security concerns about the Chinese government accessing user data and influencing US citizens through the platform.