TikTok came closer to a ban in the United States after losing an appeal of a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese parent company by January 19.
The potential ban could strain U.S.-China relations just as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20.
TikTok said it will now appeal to the Supreme Court, which could choose to take up the case or leave the circuit court’s decision in place.
“The Supreme Court has a strong history of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect it to do just that on this important constitutional question,” the company said.
TikTok will also look to Trump, who has emerged as an unlikely ally, arguing that a ban would primarily benefit platforms from Facebook’s parent company, Meta, owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
Trump’s stance reflects broader conservative criticism of Meta for alleged suppression of right-wing content, including the former president himself who was banned from Facebook after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot by his supporters.
The US government claims that TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It also says TikTok is a channel for spreading propaganda, although China and app owner ByteDance strongly deny these claims.
“National security” concerns.
would block TikTok from US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells the platform by January 19.
While acknowledging that “170 million Americans use TikTok to create and display all manner of free expression,” the three-judge panel unanimously upheld the law’s premise that taking it out of China’s control “is essential to protecting our national security”.
They found that the law did not impede free speech because it was “lacking an institutional purpose to suppress particular messages or ideas.”
The judges also disagreed with the idea that less drastic alternatives than a sale by ByteDance would solve the security problems.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland welcomed the decision, saying that “the Department of Justice is committed to defending Americans’ sensitive data from authoritarian regimes that seek to exploit companies under their control.”
Trump’s support for TikTok marks a reversal from his first term, when the Republican leader sought to ban the app over similar security concerns.
That effort bogged down in the courts when a federal judge questioned how the move would affect free speech and blocked the initiative.
Among those who helped Trump reach the White House in this year’s election was Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor with investments in ByteDance.
‘Trump’s lifeline’
“Donald Trump could be a lifeline for TikTok once he takes office, but stopping enforcement of the ban is easier said than done,” said Emarketer chief analyst Jasmine Enberg.
“And even if he manages to save TikTok, he has already changed his stance on the app and there is no guarantee he won’t follow suit later.”
The president-elect launched his own TikTok account in June, gaining 14.6 million followers, but has not posted since Election Day.
