Is TikTok getting banned in the US? What to know

TikTok’s future in the U.S. is uncertain: A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a challenge to a law that requires one of the world’s most popular social media apps to cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January.

The judges ruled unanimously that the law does not violate the constitution, rebuffing arguments from the two companies that the statute violated their rights and the rights of TikTok users in the U.S.

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The government has said it wants ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to divest its stakes. But if it doesn’t and TikTok ends up banned in the U.S., the impact could be seismic: It’s unclear just how many content creators rely on TikTok for income – and how many of those consider it their primary jobs. 

What does the TikTok ban ruling say?

FILE - TikToks future in the U.S. is uncertain following a court ruling. (Photo Illustration by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

In their lawsuit, TikTok and ByteDance argued in part that the law to ban TikTok violates the First Amendment and unfairly targets the two companies.

But the court sided with attorneys for the Justice Department who said the government was attempting to address national security concerns and did not violate the constitution.

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The Justice Department has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok's U.S. users or use the platform to spread, or suppress, information. But the U.S. hasn't publicly provided examples of that happening.

The appeals court ruling, written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, said the law was "carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary." The judges also rejected the claim that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Furthermore, Ginsburg wrote the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content" on TikTok.

What happens next?

TikTok and ByteDance are expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether the high court will take up the case.

In a statement on Friday, the companies said the Supreme Court has "an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech."

"We expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," a company spokesperson said.

Alan Morrison, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, said he expects the Supreme Court to take up the case because of the novelty of the issues raised in the lawsuit. If that happens, attorneys for the two companies still have to convince the court to grant them an emergency stay that will prevent the government from enforcing the Jan. 19 deadline to divest.

If the stay is granted, it could drag out the process until the Supreme Court decides. 

Will Trump save TikTok? 

President-elect Donald Trump tried to ban the app during his first term but said during the recent presidential campaign that he wants to "save TikTok."

The Trump transition team has not offered details on how Trump plans to carry out his pledge, but spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement last month that he plans to "deliver" on his campaign promises.

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After Trump takes office on Jan. 20th, it would fall on his Justice Department to enforce the law and punish any potential violators. Penalties would apply to any app stores that would violate a prohibition on TikTok and to internet hosting services which would be barred from supporting it.

Some have speculated that Trump could ask his Justice Department to abstain from enforcing the law. But tech companies like Apple and Google, which offer TikTok's app on their app stores, would then have to trust that the administration would not come after them for any violations.

Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said enforcement discretion — or executive orders — can not override existing law, leaving Trump with "limited room for unilateral action."

There are other things Trump could potentially do. It's possible he could invoke provisions of the law that allow the president to determine whether a sale or a similar transaction frees TikTok from "foreign adversary" control. Another option is to urge Congress to repeal the law. But that too would require support from congressional Republicans who have overwhelmingly supported the prospect of getting TikTok out of the hands of a Chinese company.

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In a statement issued Friday, Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said he was "optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok" and allow its continued use in the United States.

ByteDance has said it won't sell TikTok. And even if it wanted to, a sale of the proprietary algorithm that powers TikTok is likely to get blocked under Chinese export controls that the country issued in 2020.

Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in buying it.