WHAT: On September 16th, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral arguments in the combined legal challenges to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” a federal law that would effectively ban TikTok within the United States as of January 19, 2025.
The hearing combines three legal challenges to the Act: one filed by TikTok, Inc. and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd.; one filed by a group of TikTok content creators; and one filed by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of BASED Politics, Inc., a nonprofit organization that uses social media, including TikTok, to promote ideas related to free markets and individual liberty to a Gen Z audience.
Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center, will be available to media to discuss the Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit, which argues that the proposed federal TikTok ban violates the First Amendment rights of over 170 million Americans who use the app.
After the D.C. Circuit Court issues its decision, the case is expected to proceed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
WHO: Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. EST, Monday, September 16th, 2024
WHERE: Courtroom 20
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
HOW: Livestreamed audio of the oral arguments will be available to the public on the Court’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/USCourtsCADC.
The Liberty Justice Center will publish live commentary during the hearing on its X (formerly known as Twitter) account here: https://x.com/ljcenter.
Members of the press and public based in DC can attend the hearing in person, using the courtroom’s reserved media seating and limited public seating. These seating areas will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia released a public statement with additional information about accessing the hearing, available here. For questions not answered in the public statement, email the office of the Court Clerk at [email protected] or call 202- 216-7300.
ISSUE BACKGROUND: On June 6, the Liberty Justice Center filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of BASED Politics, Inc., to challenge the provision of a recently enacted federal law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, that would effectively ban TikTok within the United States as of January 19, 2025. The Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit argues that the proposed ban violates users’ right to free speech.
The Court combined the Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit with two other challenges to the ban, one filed by TikTok Inc. and its parent company ByteDance Ltd., and the other filed by a group of TikTok content creators.
In June, the combined legal challenges to the TikTok ban received a groundswell of national support as individuals and organizations across the political spectrum filed amicus briefs urging the Court to halt the TikTok ban.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal filings in BASED Politics Inc. v. Garland are available here.