U.S. Appeals Court Fast Tracks Government Appeal of TikTok Preliminary Injunction

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that it would fast track the U.S. government’s appeal of a previous federal court ruling that granted short-form video app TikTok a preliminary injunction against a government ban. 

The appeal is related to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Sept. 27 that barred the U.S. Commerce Department order compelling Apple and Google app stores to remove the Chinese-owned app.

The Appeals Court has ordered both parties to file all briefs by Nov. 12, and have oral arguments prepared. The government’s oral arguments are due Friday.

Nichols is planning another hearing on a preliminary injunction in the case Nov. 4. The second phase of the government’s ban, set to take effect Nov. 12, would bar U.S. companies from engaging in transactions with TikTok. This part of the ban was implemented by a presidential executive order issued in August

On Wednesday, TikTok asked the federal court for a preliminary injunction to block those restrictions, noting that the U.S. government has not provided any proof that its app poses a threat to national security. 

While TikTok isn’t closely tied to the esports industry, it is an emerging platform for promotion and advertising, and many esports organizations and influencers have a presence there. 

Earlier this month London-based esports organization Tundra Esports revealed a partnership with the short-form video app, and Southeast Asia-based EVOS Esports announced that its viewership numbers increased “1,000%” quarter-over-quarter on the platform. In September, Croatia-based esports tournament organizer One Game Agency signed TikTok as a sponsor of its online Dota 2 competition, the AMD SAPPHIRE OGA DOTA PIT EU/CIS.

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