A federal appeals court has upheld a law that mandates the divestment of TikTok by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States.
The decision, handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Friday, intensifies the pressure on ByteDance to sell TikTok before a January 19, 2025, deadline. The law, signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, has been a point of contention due to national security concerns voiced by members of Congress from both parties. They argue that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance, which is based in China, poses risks related to data privacy and potential influence by the Chinese government.
The court’s unanimous decision rejected TikTok’s argument that the law infringes on the First Amendment rights of the app’s 170 million American users. Judge Douglas Ginsburg, in the majority opinion, stated that the U.S. government had presented compelling evidence that the divestment law was narrowly tailored to protect national security. Notably, the court also pointed out that TikTok had not explicitly denied manipulating content at the behest of the Chinese government.
If ByteDance fails to divest TikTok by the specified deadline, app stores like Apple and Google, along with internet hosting providers, would be required to cease support for TikTok, effectively banning the app in the U.S. This ruling has set the stage for a possible Supreme Court challenge, as TikTok has indicated plans to appeal. However, there is no automatic right to appeal to the Supreme Court, and a source close to the company confirmed to NBC News that they would seek an injunction while pursuing the case at the highest judicial level.
