TikTok Faces Potential US Ban After Court Ruling

TikTok is facing a potential ban in the US after an appeals court on Friday rejected its challenge to a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by January 19.

The possible ban could further strain US-China relations just as president-elect Donald Trump is set to take office on January 20.

The US government claims that TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users, and that it serves as a conduit for spreading propaganda. Both China and ByteDance strongly deny these allegations.

Interestingly, Trump has emerged as an unexpected ally, arguing that a ban would primarily benefit Meta’s platforms, owned by Mark Zuckerberg.

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.

In Friday’s ruling, a three-judge panel dismissed TikTok’s main arguments that the US security concerns justifying the law were speculative.

The judges also disagreed that less drastic alternatives than a sale by ByteDance would address the issues raised by the US government.

Additionally, the judges rejected TikTok’s argument that the law was more about censoring content than addressing security concerns.

“This conclusion is supported by ample evidence that the Act is the least restrictive means of advancing the Government’s compelling national security interests,” the judges stated in their opinion.

Trump’s stance reflects broader conservative criticism of Meta for allegedly suppressing right-wing content, including Trump’s ban from Facebook following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.