Sino-US conflict | TikTok and ByteDance urged the US court to reject the secret documents submitted by the Ministry of Justice

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Short video-sharing platform TikTok and parent company ByteDance asked a U.S. appeals court to reject parts of documents filed secretly by the Justice Department in its legal defense, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January 19 or face a ban.

ByteDance and TikTok said the Justice Department wants the court to approve the secret submission of more than 15% of its defense brief and 30% of its evidence. The two companies pointed out that if they cannot view the government’s evidence, they will not be able to refute arguments that are not factually correct, let alone explain to the court why the government’s arguments and evidence are legally insufficient.

TikTok noted that if the court disagrees to dismiss the evidence, a district court judge should be appointed as a special judge to evaluate the confidential content and the government’s stated need for confidentiality.

The Justice Department also submitted a confidential document to the court detailing other security concerns about ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, as well as statements from the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Justice Department’s National Security Division, but TikTok wants the court to dismiss the secret document.