ByteDance Request to Sanction Whistleblower Lawyers Gets Denied

ByteDance Ltd.'s request for $6.2 million in sanctions against a pair of attorneys representing a company whistleblower was denied by a San Francisco federal court, for now.

Judge Susan Illston rejected the sanctions request because the whistleblower, former US engineering executive Yintao “Roger” Yu, has a pending appeal that “could impact the Court’s determination of the latest sanctions motion.”

She said in her March 14 ruling that the TikTok Inc. owner can refile the sanctions motion against Yu’s attorneys after the completion of the appeal, which is before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

ByteDance sought sanctions ...