After Congress passed a law last month threatening to ban TikTok from the US unless Chinese-owner ByteDance sold the firm, the mega-popular social media platform is fighting back.

According to Reuters, a group of TikTok content creators filed a lawsuit on May 14 to block the ban "after TikTok and parent company ByteDance filed a similar lawsuit."

Now, a US Court of Appeals in DC has fast-tracked the suit, and set a September date for oral arguments before the January deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok.

The suit filed by the prominent TikTokers argues that the ban "undermines the nation's founding principles and free marketplace of ideas. The First Amendment to our Constitution precludes Congress from censoring speech because of its content, viewpoints, editorial practices, or identity of speakers or publishers," reports CBS News. In response, the Justice Department has stated that "this legislation addresses critical national security concerns in a manner that is consistent with the First Amendment and other constitutional limitations…We look forward to defending the legislation in court."

With the trial date set for September, the DOJ has until July 26th to file its written brief, and the TikTok users represented in the suit have until August 15th to file their response, says Music Business Worldwide.

Montana Law

Will the ban be ruled unconstitutional by the courts? A similar fight last year in Montana might hold some clues.

In November, US District Court Judge Donald Molloy placed an injunction on a Montana law banning TikTok. Judge Molloy wrote that the law "oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional rights of users and businesses."

In response, CBS News notes that "Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said the judge 'indicated several times that the analysis could change as the case proceeds and the State has the opportunity to present a full factual record.'"

The Verdict

As we've written here before, the potential federal ban on TikTok would be a landmark moment for the digital economy. Never before has the US banned an app of this size outright. It seems only logical that such a move would elicit plenty of push-back and litigation.