A federal appeals court recently upheld a mid-January deadline requiring TikTok to either be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting TikTok’s request to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court could review the law. TikTok, along with its parent company ByteDance, plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The outcome remains uncertain, but legal experts suggest the Supreme Court might address the case due to its implications for social media, national security, and the First Amendment. TikTok is also hoping for support from President-elect Donald Trump, who expressed intentions to “save” the platform during his campaign.
The injunction request came after a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the U.S. government, rejecting TikTok’s challenge to the law. The court called the request “unwarranted,” noting the absence of precedent for enjoining an Act of Congress after a constitutional challenge was dismissed. The statute, signed by President Joe Biden, mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok to an approved buyer due to national security concerns, or risk a U.S. ban.
The U.S. government views TikTok as a national security risk, citing concerns that ByteDance might be compelled by Chinese authorities to provide U.S. user data or manipulate platform content. TikTok disputes these claims, arguing the government’s case is based on hypothetical risks rather than concrete evidence. TikTok’s attorneys requested a “modest delay” in the law’s enforcement to allow for Supreme Court review and to give the incoming Trump administration time to form its stance on the issue. Without a change in the law, TikTok warned that the app could shut down by Jan. 19, affecting over 170 million American users. The Justice Department opposed the delay, asserting that the existing schedule was designed to allow Supreme Court review before the law’s enforcement date.
