A federal appeals court said Monday it would hear oral arguments in September in a challenge to a law that requires TikTok to divest by early next year.
In an order Monday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the arguments will take place Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
The order comes after TikTok and ByteDance, the China-controlled parent company of the video-sharing app, sued over Congress’ recently passed Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which requires TikTok to divest by Jan. 19.
President Biden signed the legislation, and several challenges over the constitutionality of the law have ensued.
Lawmakers passed the legislation in April, reasoning it prevents China from manipulating, surveilling and targeting Americans. Other politicians have argued it could have conflicts with the First Amendment.
ByteDance and TikTok argue the law is unconstitutional.
“Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok: a vibrant online forum for protected speech and expression used by 170 million Americans to create, share, and view videos over the Internet,” the companies wrote in a filing in May.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide.”
The appeals court has not yet announced which three judges will hear the arguments on Sept. 16.
Under the legislation, TikTok must divest by Jan. 19 or face a ban on operating in the U.S.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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