A federal appeals court has upheld a law banning TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its ownership. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the ban is a justified measure to protect national security, dismissing TikTok’s argument that it violates First Amendment rights.
The law, passed by Congress earlier this year, gives ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company or face a nationwide ban. Judge Douglas Ginsburg, writing for the court, emphasized that the legislation was crafted to prevent foreign adversaries from exploiting U.S. data.
“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” Ginsburg stated. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation.”
TikTok’s lawsuit against the government argued that the law unfairly restricts speech for millions of its users. The court, however, pointed to the platform’s expansive reach and the risks posed by its ties to the Chinese Communist Party as justification for the ban.
Congress deemed TikTok a potential threat due to its ability to gather vast amounts of user data, which lawmakers believe could be exploited by the Chinese government. The ruling also allows for a possible 90-day extension if ByteDance shows significant progress toward divestiture.
As TikTok weighs its next steps, including a potential Supreme Court appeal, the January deadline looms. The ruling highlights the government’s growing determination to address perceived security risks associated with foreign-owned technology platforms.
