June 8 Deadline Set for Ark. AG’s Motion to Remand TikTik Case to State Court

Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey for Western Arkansas in El Dorado granted the unopposed motion from TikTok and ByteDance to stay their Tuesday deadline to respond to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s (R) fraud allegations, pending Griffin’s anticipated motion to remand the case to Union County Circuit Court where it originated, said Hickey’s signed order Monday (docket 1:23-cv-01038). Good cause exists for granting the motion, said the order, setting June 8 as the deadline for Griffin to file his motion to remand. If the court denies the motion to remand, Griffin will get 30 days to amend his complaint, and TikTok and ByteDance will have 30 days after the filing of the amended complaint “to file their responsive pleadings,” said the order. If the court denies the motion for remand and Griffin doesn’t want to amend his complaint, TikTok and ByteDance will then have 30 days after the denial to file their responsive pleadings to Griffin’s “original, unamended complaint,” it said. Griffin alleges TikTok’s U.S. privacy policy is misleading because it doesn’t alert the public to TikTok’s ability to share personal data with individuals or entities in China (see 2305100036). The complaint asserts seven claims under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and seeks a permanent injunction to compel TikTok to cease its allegedly false and deceptive statements and omissions about the risk of access to and exploitation of consumers’ content and data by Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party.