Court upholds law requiring sale or ban in U.S.

Roommates doesn't look too cute for TikTok with 2025 around the corner! On Friday, December 6, a federal appeals court unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few weeks, for AP News.

This latest move is a blow to the app and its parent company's struggle to remain active in the United States. More than a hundred million Americans use the video social networking app.

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More details on the latest ruling on the law on banning or selling TikTok

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's motion to overturn the law. The legislation requires TikTok to sever ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance. Otherwise, the United States will ban its use in the country by mid-January. In response, the company previously argued that the law violated its First Amendment rights. However, the appeals court upheld these requests in its judgment on Friday.

“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” Justice Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the court’s opinion. “Here, the government acted solely to protect that freedom against a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to collect data about people in the United States.”

The appeals court panel, made up of two judges appointed by Republicans and one by Democrats, heard oral arguments in September. The hearing lasted more than two hours. On Friday, the three judges rejected TikTok's request.

What happens next?

The next step for TikTok and ByteDance – another plaintiff in the lawsuit – is to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, it is not known whether the court will take up the case. However, Michael Hughes, spokesperson for the application, remains convinced that the platform will win the war despite the defeat of this legal battle.

“The Supreme Court has an established history of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we hope it will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was crafted and imposed based on inaccurate, false, and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people.”

If the sale or ban law remains in effect, Hughes said more than 170 million Americans' voices will be silenced on January 19, 2025.

Lawyers for both companies also argued that it was impossible to divide the platform commercially and technologically. They claim that any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm would disconnect the American version from other global content.

Where do President Biden and President-elect Trump stand on the ban?

Although the matter is before the courts, it is also possible that Donald Trump could give both companies a presidential helping hand. He tried to ban the app during his first term. However, during his presidential campaign, he declared that he was now against the law.

While Trump initially came out against the TT, President Joe Biden ultimately signed the terms of the law in April. The app has long been the source of tension in Washington over concerns that it poses a threat to national security.

The United States has expressed concern that TikTok collects large amounts of user data. For example, there are concerns that sensitive information such as viewing habits could be studied and forcibly shared with the Chinese government. There are also concerns about government influence over TikTok's algorithm.

TikTok has previously denied that Beijing could use it to spy on or manipulate Americans. In May, she sued the American company. The company's lawyers specifically pointed out that the United States has not provided evidence showing that the company transmitted user data to the Chinese government or manipulated content to benefit Beijing in the United States. Furthermore, they claim that the law is only based on future risks.

TikTok has already invested more than $2 billion to strengthen data protection for American users.

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Associated Press reporter Haleluya Hadero contributed to this report.