TikTok ban confirmed, app could shut down in just a few weeks

TikTok is facing a ban from the U.S. after a federal appeals court came to a decision to force parent company ByteDance to divest. The company now has just a few weeks, specifically until January 19, 2025, to divest or sell TikTok. Otherwise, the short video app will be banned in the country.

The decision comes as a unanimous vote from the Justice Department. A panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously agreed with the Justice Department. The ruling now places a potential ban to occur in as little as six weeks, affecting 170 million U.S. users and many creators. ByteDance and TikTok are approaching the Supreme Court or full appeals court panel.

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ByteDance will have to move swiftly to maintain operations within the U.S.

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If the Supreme Court reverses the latest ruling, ByteDance will be forced to look for possible suitors for the company within the U.S. As it does, the company may also approach President Joe Biden for a 90-day extension on top of the January 19th deadline. This would then place the company’s future within the U.S. in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who in 2020 attempted to ban the company during his first term. However, during his election campaign, Trump did state he would “save TikTok” from a ban.

Advocates are looking at the potential ban’s impact on free speech across social media and the digital landscape. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. 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.

“Banning TikTok blatantly violates the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans who use this app to express themselves and communicate with people around the world,” said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLU’s National Security Project.

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TikTok aims to appeal the recent ruling

In a quick follow-up, TikTok released a statement on the matter

As news came out regarding the potential TikTok ban, the company went on record to state it would fight the law. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” the company says.

If left in the hands of President Trump in early 2025, there’s a chance that TikTok’s takeover will be properly facilitated in the U.S. However, it begs the question of which company will assume ownership or how a takeover will be handled.