U.S. Court of Appeals upholds law ordering ByteDance to sell TikTok or face U.S. ban

12/09/2024 / By Laura Harris

Court Ruling on TikTok Sale: The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, must sell the app by January 19, 2025, or face a ban in the U.S. due to national security concerns.
National Security Concerns: TikTok has been accused of being a “surveillance tool” for the Chinese Communist Party, with lawmakers arguing it poses a threat to U.S. security by potentially spying on Americans and harvesting personal data.
Legal Challenges and Rejections: TikTok filed a lawsuit in May 2023, arguing the law violated the First and Fifth Amendments, but the court rejected these claims, stating the law was “narrowly tailored” to protect national security.
Implications of Non-Compliance: If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by the deadline, the app will be removed from platforms like Apple and Google, and hosting providers will be barred from supporting it, effectively banning TikTok in the United States.
TikTok’s Appeal to Supreme Court: Despite the ruling, TikTok plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing the ban infringes on free speech rights, though the court is not obligated to accept the appeal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, must sell the popular social media app by Jan. 19, 2025 or face an effective ban in the country due to national security concerns.

In March, Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) called TikTok “a surveillance tool used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to spy on Americans and harvest highly personal data” on X, formerly known as Twitter. Balderson also claimed that “as long as TikTok is owned by ByteDance, the app will remain a national security threat” to the United States.

At the time, members of Congress from both parties raised their concerns about the alleged connections of TikTok to the Communist Chinese government. In April, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law, a bill that requires ByteDance to sell its stake in the platform or be shut down. (Related: TikTok files lawsuit against Biden administration over law forcing sale of app.)

However, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the bill in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. on May 7. TikTok argued that the law violates the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as unlawful seizure of private property.

The court of appeals rejected the argument of TikTok on Dec. 6. The court stressed that the U.S. government had presented “persuasive evidence” showing the law was “narrowly tailored to protect national security.” It further noted TikTok’s failure to refute allegations that it may have manipulated content at the direction of the Chinese government.

“On the merits, we reject each of the petitioners’ constitutional claims,” Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the opinion. “As we shall explain, the parts of the Act that are properly before this court do not contravene the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, nor do they violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws; constitute an unlawful bill of attainder or work an uncompensated taking of private property in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”

If ByteDance does not divest TikTok by Jan. 19, companies like Apple and Google would be required to remove the app from their platforms, while internet hosting providers would be prohibited from supporting TikTok to effectively make the app inaccessible in the United States.

TikTok to appeal the ruling to SCOTUS

TikTok announced that same day its plan to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. The company claimed that the law constitutes censorship and infringes on Americans’ free speech rights.

“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,” TikTok posted on X on Dec. 6. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people. The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.”

Moreover, an anonymous source close to TikTok revealed that the company is also planning to seek an injunction while preparing a petition for the Supreme Court to review the case.

However, this request for a hearing from the U.S. Supreme Court is not possible as the court is not obligated to accept the appeal.

Read the latest news involving the CCP at CommunistChina.news.

Watch this clip from Fox Business featuring TikTok personality Zach Sage Fox discussing why he is in favor of the app divesting itself from its Chinese owners.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.