TikTok may soon be banned in the U.S. after a panel of federal judges upheld a new law that could force the app’s shutdown by mid-January.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s request to block the law, which requires its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner by January 19. If this doesn’t happen, TikTok faces a U.S. ban. ByteDance has said selling the app is impossible due to restrictions from the Chinese government.
The judges disagreed with TikTok’s claims that the law unfairly targets the app and violates the First Amendment. They stated the law is focused on addressing risks from foreign control and protecting American users’ data from potential misuse by adversaries like China.
Lawmakers and intelligence officials have argued that TikTok could pose a national security risk, though they have not shared concrete evidence. They also pointed out that apps like Facebook and YouTube are banned in China.
TikTok plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that banning the app would violate Americans’ free speech rights. A TikTok spokesperson called the potential ban “censorship” and expressed hope that the Supreme Court will overturn the decision.