TikTok and a group of creators have enlisted two prominent U.S. Supreme Court lawyers to challenge a U.S. law that forces China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban. Andrew Pincus from Mayer Brown will represent TikTok and ByteDance, while Jeffrey Fisher of Stanford Law School will advocate for content creators when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit hears arguments on September 16.
Pincus, who has argued 30 cases before the Supreme Court, is known for his opposition to class actions, while Fisher, a veteran of 48 Supreme Court cases, specializes in constitutional and criminal law. They will face Daniel Tenny, a seasoned appellate lawyer from the Justice Department, which is defending the law.
The legal team for TikTok and ByteDance also includes Alexander Berengaut from Covington & Burling, and the creators are represented by Ambika Kumar of Davis Wright Tremaine. The appeals court panel will feature Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao, and Douglas Ginsburg, who will also hear arguments from an attorney representing a nonprofit organization that sued over the law.
President Joe Biden signed the law in April, requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or face a ban. The White House and supporters argue that the law targets the Chinese-based ownership of TikTok, not the platform itself. ByteDance and TikTok, however, contend that the law represents a “radical departure” from the U.S. tradition of supporting an open internet. They argue that divesting TikTok’s U.S. operations is “technologically, commercially, or legally” unfeasible.
Both TikTok and the Justice Department have requested a ruling by December 6, which could give the U.S. Supreme Court time to review the case before any ban is implemented.
