A US federal appeals court upheld a law requiring Chinese company ByteDance to divest TikTok in the US by January 19, 2024, or face a ban, Reuters reports.
The Justice Department highlighted national security concerns about Chinese access to American users’ data and argued that China could potentially manipulate content on the platform. The ruling represents a major setback for TikTok, which plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Free speech advocates, like the ACLU, criticized the ruling as a violation of First Amendment rights. The ruling could also pave the way for broader actions against other foreign-owned apps that raise data privacy and security concerns.
The outcome of this ruling depends on US President Joe Biden, who could grant a 90-day extension before the deadline, and the incoming Trump administration, which has previously tried to ban TikTok.
