(Tampa Free Press)—Following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s decision in favor of the federal government’s proposed TikTok ban, the Liberty Justice Center and a coalition of TikTok content creators have filed an emergency petition seeking to delay enforcement of the ban until the U.S. Supreme Court delivers a final ruling.
The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit in June 2024, arguing that the proposed TikTok ban violates the First Amendment by prohibiting constitutionally protected speech on the platform. The case was combined with lawsuits from TikTok creators and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, for oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit.
On Friday, the appellate court ruled in favor of the federal government, paving the way for the ban to take effect on January 19, 2025—just one day before the presidential inauguration.
In their emergency petition, the Liberty Justice Center and the TikTok creators contend that the ban will infringe on the First Amendment rights of over 170 million American TikTok users, including those engaging in political discourse. The petition argues that enforcing the ban will cause “immediate and irreparable harm” to Americans, particularly those who rely on the platform to engage in political speech surrounding the inauguration and President Trump’s anticipated policies.
One plaintiff, BASED Politics, a nonprofit that uses TikTok to share educational content about free markets and individual rights, claims the ban will significantly hinder its ability to publish content on critical political topics, including tariffs, government reforms, and potential structural changes to federal agencies.
“The TikTok ban would shut down the core political speech of millions of Americans. We look forward to taking this First Amendment fight to the Supreme Court,” said Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center.
The petition requests that the court halt the ban’s enforcement until the U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to review and issue a decision on the case. The Liberty Justice Center previously secured a significant First Amendment victory in the 2018 Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME and aims to build on that legacy with this case, BASED Politics Inc. v. Garland.