A federal appeals court has upheld a law mandating that TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must divest its U.S. operations by mid-January 2025 or face a nationwide ban on the popular social media platform. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit delivered a unanimous decision, rejecting TikTok's arguments that the law infringes upon First Amendment rights.
The court's opinion, authored by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, stated, "The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary's ability to gather data on people in the United States."
TikTok, which boasts over 170 million American users, plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. A company spokesperson expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would uphold Americans' right to free speech, emphasizing that the ban was based on "inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of ... ."
Associated Press
The law, signed by President Biden reflects longstanding concerns that TikTok's data collection practices could enable the Chinese government to access sensitive information about U.S. citizens or manipulate content on the platform. TikTok has consistently denied these allegations, asserting that there is no evidence of data sharing with Beijing.
The court's decision intensifies pressure on ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations. Potential American buyers have shown interest, and discussions are ongoing.
Notably, President-elect Donald Trump, who previously attempted to ban TikTok during his first term has indicated a shift in stance, suggesting he may oppose the ban or facilitate a sale to U.S. owners.
In response to the ruling, shares of competing social media companies experienced gains, with Meta Platforms and Snap seeing increases of 3% and 3.5%
As the January 19 deadline approaches, all eyes are on the Supreme Court and the incoming administration to determine TikTok's fate in the United States.
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