The court upholds legislation that would force the ban or sale of TikTok in the United States
An appeals court has upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company by mid-January or face a ban in the United States.
The decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia represents a significant increase in the ongoing investigation of TikTok, one of the most popular social networks in the country with more than 170 million users.
The decision is a major blow to TikTok, which had previously sought to overturn the law on the grounds that it unfairly designated the app and violated the First Amendment rights of its American users. ByteDance has insisted the sale is unlikely, citing expected opposition from the Chinese government.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has publicly expressed support for TikTok, is now facing mounting pressure to intervene. However, his team has yet to come up with a clear plan to rescue the app. A spokesman recently said, “He will deliver,” but gave no further details.
The law, passed in April, gives TikTok until January 19 to comply or face a nationwide ban. Free speech advocates and content creators who rely on the platform for revenue have expressed concern about the potential removal of the app, which could disrupt the digital economy and reduce user access to the platform that has become a cultural phenomenon.
TikTok’s next steps are uncertain. Legal experts expect that the company will appeal to the Supreme Court, although there is no guarantee that the judges will answer the case. Meanwhile, the court’s decision adds urgency to ByteDance’s predicament, with no immediate solution.
The decision deepens the debate over TikTok’s role in the US market and highlights broader geopolitical tensions surrounding technology and data security.
