A federal appeals court has upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese entity by mid-January or face a ban in the United States.
The decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit represents a major escalation in ongoing scrutiny of TikTok, one of the country’s most popular social media platforms with more than 170 million users.
The ruling deals a major blow to TikTok, which had sought to overturn the law on the grounds that it unfairly singled out the app and violated the First Amendment rights of its American users. ByteDance confirmed that a sale was not possible, citing expected opposition from the Chinese government.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has publicly expressed support for TikTok, faces mounting pressure to intervene. However, his team has not yet identified a clear plan to save the app. A company spokesperson recently said it “will deliver,” but did not provide further details.
The law, passed in April, gives TikTok until January 19 to comply or face a nationwide ban. Free expression advocates and content creators who rely on the platform for income have expressed concerns about the potential removal of the app, which could disrupt the digital economy and limit user access to a platform that has become a cultural phenomenon.
TikTok’s next steps are uncertain. Legal experts expect the company to appeal to the Supreme Court, although there is no guarantee that the judges will hear the case. Meanwhile, the court’s decision adds urgency to ByteDance’s predicament, with no immediate solution in sight.
The decision intensifies the debate over TikTok’s role in the US market and highlights broader geopolitical tensions surrounding the technology and data security.
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