A federal appeals court has upheld a law that could potentially lead to the banning of TikTok in the United States by mid-next month, putting the future of one of the country’s largest social media platforms in jeopardy. The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC, in a 3:0 vote, decided that the law, which was raised by the Justice Department citing national security concerns about the Chinese-owned app, could stand and result in the ban of TikTok in the US next year.
In the court’s majority opinion on Friday, Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote, “We conclude that the portions of the Act that the petitioners have standing to challenge, specifically the provisions concerning TikTok and its related entities, are constitutional. Therefore, we deny the petitions.” This means that TikTok’s millions of users will have to find alternative means of communication.
The case is expected to be taken to the Supreme Court, which could either take it on or allow the appeals ruling to stand. This decision is likely to pose questions for President-elect Donald Trump, who initially attempted to ban TikTok in 2020 but later opposed the move, stating that it would benefit the platform’s competitor, Meta.
In a statement, TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said, “The Supreme Court has a long history of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we believe they will do the same in this important constitutional issue.” He also added, “Unfortunately, the ban on TikTok was based on inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, resulting in the censorship of the American people.”
Neither the Trump transition team nor the Department of Justice responded immediately to a request for comment from WIRED. TikTok filed a lawsuit in May after President Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) into law, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations to a non-Chinese company by January 19 or face the blocking of its app from app stores in the country. TikTok argued that the law unfairly targets the platform based on its content, violating the First Amendment. A group of TikTok creators also joined the case, stating that their free speech rights would be violated if over 170 million Americans are forced to leave the platform.
However, the appeals court ruled that the PAFACA does not infringe on TikTok’s free speech rights. In the majority opinion, Judge Ginsburg wrote, “The government does not censor content or dictate the type of content on the platform. In fact, the content on the platform could remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the US would still be free to read and share any content they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choice.” He also added that Congress deemed it necessary to take this risk due to the perceived national security threats. The record also shows that Congress consulted with experts in the tech industry before passing the law.
