U.S. Court Denies TikTok’s Request to Halt Sale Mandate
The legal battle now hinges on whether the Supreme Court will take up the case
A U.S. federal appeals court has denied TikTok’s request to temporarily halt a law mandating the app’s sale by January 19, 2025, or face a ban in the United States.
This decision comes as TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, prepare to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Friday’s unanimous court order ruled that TikTok failed to provide precedents supporting their request to pause the law while awaiting Supreme Court review, labelling the request as “unwarranted” and “unjustified”.
The legislation, enacted earlier this year, requires ByteDance to divest TikTok due to national security concerns, with the U.S. Justice Department asserting that “continued Chinese control of the TikTok application poses a continuing threat to national security”.
TikTok counters these claims by highlighting that its data is stored in the U.S. and managed by Oracle, aiming to mitigate fears of foreign interference.
As the deadline approaches, TikTok warns that over 170 million American users could be affected if the app is banned. The legal battle now hinges on whether the Supreme Court will take up the case, which raises significant questions about social media’s intersection with national security and First Amendment rights.
The outcome may also be influenced by political shifts, as President-elect Donald Trump has expressed intentions to support TikTok during his upcoming administration.
