A US appeals court has denied TikTok’s emergency request for more time to challenge a law that could force its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular short-video app by January 19. This ruling means TikTok now faces the possibility of being banned unless the company swiftly appeals to the US Supreme Court.
TikTok and ByteDance had filed a motion on Monday asking for additional time to present their case to the Supreme Court, warning that the law could shut down the app, which has over 170 million users in the US. However, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the request, stating that TikTok and ByteDance failed to identify any previous instance where a court allowed an Act of Congress to be blocked while the Supreme Court reviewed it.
Following the court’s ruling, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the company intends to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, citing the court’s history of upholding Americans’ right to free speech. Under the law, TikTok will be banned unless ByteDance divests the app by January 19.
The law grants the US government broad powers to ban foreign-owned apps that could pose national security risks due to concerns over the collection of American data. The US Justice Department has argued that TikTok’s continued connection to China poses a threat to national security. In response, TikTok has countered that the app’s user data is stored in the US and that decisions regarding content moderation are made locally.
This decision now places the fate of TikTok in the hands of President Joe Biden, who could grant a 90-day extension of the January 19 deadline, and soon-to-be President Donald Trump, who had previously attempted to ban TikTok during his first term.
Additionally, US lawmakers have warned tech companies like Google and Apple to be ready to remove TikTok from their app stores if the deadline passes.
