TikTok is facing a ban in the United States next month after an appeals court refused to suspend a measure that would take effect if the popular video-sharing app is not sold by its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
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The company filed a motion for a stay after a federal appeals court panel in Washington upheld a law banning the social media platform in the United States unless ByteDance abandons the app by January 19. TikTok asked for a delay while it appeals the decision and awaits the decision of the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
TikTok said it now plans to take its case to the US Supreme Court. "The voices of more than 170 million Americans here in the United States and around the world will be silenced on January 19, 2025, if TikTok's ban is not lifted," the company wrote on X after the appeals court panel rejected its request.
An appellate court has already concluded that the Protecting Americans from Programs Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act "satisfies First Amendment requirements under heightened scrutiny," a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wrote in a two-page decision on Friday.
If the courts do not act, TikTok will be removed from mobile app stores on January 19, making it inaccessible to Americans who are not already using the platform. Ultimately, current users will not be able to access the app.
In its previous ruling, the appeals court said the US government had justified national security concerns that China could use the platform to collect data on citizens or propaganda. It also rejected the company's argument that the law violates constitutional protections for free speech.
Many who use the platform for information and entertainment are hoping Trump will come to the rescue after he spoke out against the ban on the campaign trail in an effort to attract younger voters. He tried unsuccessfully to force a sale of the program during his first presidency.
TikTok wrote that the Trump administration could suspend the law or mitigate its most serious potential consequences. According to the company's statement, the law gives the president and the attorney general "broad authority to determine the timing and implementation of its provisions.
The U.S. Department of Justice asked the court to dismiss the motion, explaining that an "indefinite delay" that could last more than a year "would be particularly prejudicial to the government's and the public's interests in enforcing the law.