In a significant setback for TikTok, a US appeals court rejected an emergency motion to block a law that could force the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the platform by January 19, or face a nationwide ban.
The decision means TikTok must now urgently seek intervention from the US Supreme Court if it hopes to prevent the law from taking effect. The ruling issued by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit comes after TikTok and ByteDance requested additional time to present their case to the Supreme Court. The companies had warned that the law would effectively shut down the app, impacting more than 170 million US users.
The court’s order emphasized that no precedent exists for halting an Act of Congress during its review by the Supreme Court, particularly after a constitutional challenge had been denied. TikTok’s legal team argued that the law, passed earlier this year, would have grave consequences for free speech, as TikTok has become one of the most popular platforms for public discourse in the United States.
The law, enacted as part of a broader foreign assistance package, demands that ByteDance divest from TikTok by the set deadline. If ByteDance fails to comply, TikTok would lose its ability to operate in the US, including being removed from app stores and losing web hosting services. The legislation gives the US government wide-ranging powers to regulate foreign-owned apps based on national security concerns, specifically fearing that Chinese control of TikTok could be used for espionage or data collection.
In response, TikTok has denied allegations that it poses a security threat, asserting that its data is stored in the US on Oracle’s cloud servers, and its content moderation is handled domestically. The US Justice Department, however, argues that continued Chinese control represents an ongoing risk to national security.
The next steps will now be in the hands of the US Supreme Court, where TikTok is expected to seek a review. However, it remains unclear whether the Court will take up the case before the January 19 deadline. In the meantime, President Joe Biden could decide whether to grant a 90-day extension if ByteDance is in the process of selling TikTok. The fate of TikTok may ultimately rest on decisions made by both President Biden and incoming President Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20.
While Trump had previously attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, he stated during his presidential campaign that he would not support the app’s ban if he were elected again. However, TikTok’s future in the US remains uncertain as the legal battle continues to unfold.
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