TikTok is facing a US ban after an appeals court rejected its appeal against a law requiring the app to separate from its Chinese parent company by January 19.
The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20.
The US government alleges that TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It also alleges that TikTok is a conduit for spreading propaganda, although China and the app’s owner ByteDance strongly deny those claims.
But Trump has become an unlikely ally for TikTok, arguing that a ban would primarily benefit Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, would block TikTok from US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells the platform by January 19.
The case is now likely to be taken to the US Supreme Court, AFP reported.
In today’s ruling, a three-judge panel rejected TikTok’s main argument that the US security concerns justifying the law were speculative.
They also disagreed that less drastic alternatives to a sale by ByteDance would resolve the issues raised by the US government. The justices also rejected TikTok’s argument that the law is actually about content censorship, not security.
“This conclusion is supported by a body of evidence that the law is the least restrictive means of achieving the government’s compelling national security interests,” the justices said in their opinion.
Trump’s stance echoes broader conservative criticism of Meta for allegedly suppressing right-wing content, including Trump’s ban on Facebook following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
It marks a turnaround from Trump’s first term, when he tried to ban TikTok over similar security concerns.
Trump’s change of heart coincides with his relationship with Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor with investments in ByteDance.
The president-elect launched his own TikTok account in June, garnering 14.6 million followers but hasn’t posted any content since Election Day.
The Wall Street Journal reported that TikTok CEO Shawn Zi Chu had sought support from Elon Musk, who has close ties to Trump.
Despite the uncertainty, TikTok’s presence in the U.S. continues to grow. The platform reported $100 million in sales on Black Friday for its new shopping venture, and Emarketer predicts that U.S. ad revenue will reach $15.5 billion next year, representing 4.5% of total digital ad spending in the country.
Emarketer lead analyst Jasmine Enberg warned that the ban would significantly disrupt the social media landscape, benefiting Meta, YouTube and Snap while hurting content creators and small businesses dependent on TikTok. | BGNES
