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TikTok has lost an emergency bid to suspend a looming deadline under the U.S. “divest or ban” law, leaving the fate of China’s popular ByteDance-owned video app in the country increasingly uncertain.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday denied an emergency motion filed by the platform and its Chinese parent company earlier in the week, delaying the law’s effectiveness next month while asking the Supreme Court to: I asked. Please give it a try.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, means that if the TikTok app is not sold by its parent company by January 19, 2025, the day before Donald Trump takes office as the new president, ordered to prohibit its use.
Last week, a U.S. appeals court upheld the law. TikTok then requested a temporary injunction.
“Appellants do not identify a case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has halted its enactment pending review in the Supreme Court.” said in a short order. on friday.
The court added that TikTok’s petition was based on allegations of freedom of speech violations, which the judge had already rejected in an initial ruling last week.
The ruling leaves TikTok’s future in the hands of the Supreme Court, which must decide whether to hear the appeal.
TikTok may also be counting on support from President Trump. President Trump has vowed to “preserve” the app, although he hasn’t said what mechanisms he will use to do so if he takes over the White House.
The US Department of Justice has argued that TikTok poses a national security threat due to its ties to China and could be used for espionage and propaganda purposes. A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Friday sent a letter to popular app store operators Apple and Google, reminding them that they will no longer be able to update or download the TikTok app after the deadline unless TikTok is sold.
TikTok has denied the accusations, finding the law unconstitutional, while arguing that a spinoff is technically “unfeasible” within the deadline. The Chinese government has also said it opposes the sale.
TikTok said in a statement Friday: “As we have previously stated, we plan to take this case to the Supreme Court, which has a historical record of protecting Americans’ free speech rights. TikTok Ban Ended Unless we do so, the voices of more than 170 million Americans here in the United States and around the world will be silenced on January 19, 2025.”
Additional reporting by Stefania Palma in Washington
