Following a failed attempt to overturn a new law, TikTok faces a U.S. ban.

Following a failed attempt to overturn a new law, TikTok faces a U.S. ban.

In the event that ByteDance, the video app's owner, does not sell it to a non-Chinese firm, the law will ban it in the US by January 19.A group of federal judges unanimously affirmed a new regulation on Friday that could result in the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok being banned by the middle of January, bringing the company one step closer to going extinct in the US. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the three judges rejected TikTok's attempt to have the law overturned. The app may be doomed in one of its largest markets as a result of the decision. Over 170 million Americans use TikTok for self-education and entertainment, making it a cultural phenomenon.

President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has frequently expressed support for the app but lacks a clear plan for saving it under the new law that will take effect the day before his inauguration, is also affected by the decision. According to the rule, which was enacted in April, ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, must sell the app to a non-Chinese business by January 19 or risk being banned in the US. A sale is impossible, according to TikTok, which has been causing national security concerns among legislators since 2020 due to its ties to China. This is partly because the Chinese government would reject the sale. TikTok was unfairly singled out by the law, the company claimed,

The judges didn't agree with TikTok's position. According to them, the law was "carefully crafted to deal with only control by a foreign adversary" and did not violate the First Amendment. The judges ruled on Friday that the government had taken action only to safeguard that freedom from a foreign opponent country and to restrict that adversary's capacity to collect information about Americans. Under ByteDance, TikTok has been deemed a national security danger by U.S. lawmakers and intelligence agencies. They claim that the Chinese government's control over private businesses would enable it to use the app to propagate propaganda or retrieve private information about Americans, but they haven't made any proof of this publicly available.

TikTok is not permitted in China, and apps like Facebook and YouTube are prohibited there as well, they have pointed out. With the expectation that the Supreme Court would rule otherwise, TikTok announced that it will appeal the ruling. Michael Hughes, a spokesman for TikTok, said in a statement, "We expect the Supreme Court to uphold Americans' right to free speech, as they have done historically to do." The prohibition was referred to as "outright censorship of the American people" by him. Attorney General Merrick Garland described the decision as "a significant step in preventing the Chinese government from using TikTok as a weapon."

The Supreme Court's decision to take up the issue is uncertain, therefore it's unclear exactly what will happen to the app next. Anupam Chander, a Georgetown University law and technology professor, is one of the experts who believes the Supreme Court will hear the case and prolong TikTok's existence in the US. He stated that the Supreme Court will freeze the statute in order to prevent the app from going black on January 19. After that, the matter will be turned over to the Trump administration and the Trump Department of Justice to determine their course of action.

The company's only chance of surviving in the US in the near future is a court-ordered injunction that would prevent the law from going into force if it doesn't sell. According to a recent note by Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at TD Cowen, a financial services company, the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider the case and make a decision by June.

In recognition of the app's widespread use, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan said on Friday that many Americans may "lose access to an outlet for expression, a source of community, and even a means of income" if it doesn't sell.

The Trump administration is considering a repeal of the law that penalizes companies for distributing or updating TikTok on their app stores. The decision was made due to perceived national-security threats and is consistent with longstanding regulatory practice. However, it is unclear how Trump could save the app, and tech giants like Apple and Google would need to trust in the Trump administration's promises of nonenforcement.

The US Congress passed a law allowing the president to decide if a sale or transaction successfully removes TikTok from "foreign adversary" control. Experts suggest ByteDance could make structural changes to comply. However, Trump's commitment to TikTok's future remains uncertain due to his hawkish stance on China. The law was passed after intelligence briefings highlighting threats.

The US Senate has ruled that the government can restrict access to foreign content on TikTok, a platform owned by China. The decision, which was criticized by free speech advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union, has implications for other platforms under foreign ownership. However, a TD analyst suggests that the Supreme Court would uphold the decision, given the D.C. court judges' composition, which includes two conservatives and one liberal.