European Union: Issued EU General Court ruling rejecting Bytedance (TikTok) application for an interim order against the designation as "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act (T-1077/23)

On 9 February 2024, the European Union General Court issued its ruling dismissing the Bytedance (TikTok) application for an interim order against the designation as "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act (T-1077/23). On 16 November 2023, Bytedance filed a lawsuit to annul the decision adopted by the EU Commission designating TikTok as a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In addition, Bytedance also submitted an application for interim measures seeking to suspend that decision. The Court stated that Bytedance failed to demonstrate the necessity of suspending the contested decision until the substantive proceedings are concluded to avoid "serious and irreparable harm". Bytedance argued that immediate implementation of the decision could disclose highly strategic information about TikTok's user profiling practices, potentially harming its business. However, the Court found that Bytedance did not prove a real risk of disclosure of confidential information or that such a risk would cause "serious and irreparable harm".