TikTok's ban appeal falls through in the US

TikTok parent company ByteDance has lost its most recent appeal to US courts regarding the potential ban of the app in the country. A federal appeals court refused to block a bill that will, among other things, force ByteDance into a compromising position; should the law go through as planned, the company will have to either sell TikTok, or face a ban on the app in the US. The company still has the option to go to the US Supreme Court with a further appeal. 

The bill originated in April of 2024, when President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This act identified the People's Republic of China as one of America's "foreign adversaries", and banned the use of apps maintained by the country within the US. The law goes into effect on January 19 of 2025, which means that ByteDance and any other affected companies have until then to bring apps into compliance, or face a ban. Compliance, of course, means selling those apps to companies outside of China. 

The appeal was submitted on grounds of violations of the United States Constitution, with a focus on the First Amendment, free speech. ByteDance runs TikTok in the US through a chain of wholly owned subsidiaries that lead down the chain to a company headquartered in California. Because the business is run on US soil, the argument is that Constitutional protections apply to it, and thus to the TikTok service. The court, meanwhile, argues that TikTok has significant ties to China through ByteDance, and that if the People's Republic of China gave the orders, TikTok would readily manipulate the service in the US for purposes such as propaganda or censorship. It's worth noting that President-Elect Donald Trump has stated publicly that he is against the ban, and he could make efforts overturn it once he takes office.