A federal appeals court in Washington DC unanimously voted to uphold a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the social network’s parent company ByteDance sells it to an American owner.
The ruling rejects TikTok’s claims that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s commitment to free speech and individual liberty.
“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” the court’s opinion reads. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”
President Biden signed the sell-or-ban law back in April, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell the app or face a ban. The bill followed fours years of allegations from the U.S. government that TikTok’s ties to China pose a national security risk and that it exposes Americans’ sensitive information to the Chinese government.
TikTok may take the case to the Supreme Court. In adddition, President-elect Trump may also intervene, as he vowed to save the app if elected.
This story is developing…
