SALT LAKE CITY — The state's top court has rejected a request by TikTok for an emergency stay, clearing the way for the social media giant to be forced to hand over documents and data to investigators.
On Friday night, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and the Utah Attorney General's Office said it received something from TikTok.
"TikTok has produced some information, and we are currently evaluating it to determine whether it fully complies with the Court’s order," a spokesperson for the offices said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
In an order filed Thursday night by Justice Jill Pohlman, the Utah Supreme Court refused to grant TikTok's stay request. The order noted that Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and Associate Chief Justice John Pearce did not participate in the decision.
The decision follows a lower court judge's rejection of a similar request on Thursday. TikTok sought a halt to investigative subpoena demands while it pursues appeals to the Utah Supreme Court. But the judge sided with the Utah Attorney General's Office in giving TikTok a 5pm deadline on Dec. 1 to hand over information sought by investigative subpoenas from the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
TikTok has long insisted it is cooperating with the state, but what has been sought is too broad. In court on Thursday, it was revealed that there may be other investigations by the state into TikTok.
TikTok still has other appeals pending before the Utah Supreme Court. The company has argued that it once Utah filed a lawsuit against it, the subpoenas lost much of their teeth. Utah has a separate lawsuit filed against TikTok alleging the video app crafted addictive algorithms that harm the mental health of youth and has been less-than-forthcoming about its company practices, in violation of consumer protection laws.
Utah has another lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram owner Meta also alleging harms to the mental health of the state's youth.
