A U.S. appeals court has just upheld a law from April 2024 that bans TikTok, the China-owned video platform, over national security and data protection issues. This law made its way through Congress as part of a larger aid package for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine. It gives TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a clear choice: either sell TikTok to a U.S. company or face removal from app stores. Apple and Google would also incur financial penalties if they don’t comply.
This ruling comes amid a toughening stance between the U.S. and China, driven by accusations of Chinese cyber espionage. TikTok had appealed the decision, but on December 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously rejected its case. Judge Douglas Ginsberg pointed out that if ByteDance doesn’t divest by January 19, 2025, TikTok would essentially be gone from the U.S. This decision puts pressure on TikTok’s millions of users to seek other platforms.
Ginsberg emphasized that the responsibility for this situation falls on China’s threats to U.S. security, not on the U.S. government, which has tried engaging with TikTok to find alternative solutions. He also refuted TikTok’s claims that the ban violates the First Amendment, asserting that the government took action to protect American freedoms from foreign threats. In response, a TikTok spokesperson criticized the law as based on flawed information, warning it would suppress the voices of over 170 million users by the 2025 deadline.
According to CNBC, TikTok is now looking to have its case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What could be a twist in this saga is the incoming Republican administration led by president-elect Donald Trump, returning for a second term in January. Previously, Trump had pushed hard for a TikTok ban, but his stance seems to have shifted. In September, he even suggested TikTok users should vote for him, but it remains unclear if he will enforce a ban.
Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that this ruling signals a tightening grip on foreign companies in sensitive sectors. He explained that TikTok will likely employ lobbying, lawsuits, and public pressure to delay any divestment, but bipartisan support for action is growing, leaving TikTok with little room to maneuver.
Singleton also suggested that the ruling reflects a broader strategy for how the U.S. and its allies deal with tech threats from authoritarian regimes. For China, losing TikTok is not just about the app itself but represents a significant defeat in its tech competition with the U.S. While Beijing may loudly protest, it may not retaliate in any dramatic fashion, given its current economic troubles.