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TikTok loses bid to strike down law banning it from the US

  • CNN
  • December 6, 2024
New York

CNN

 — 

TikTok has lost its bid to strike down a law that could result in the platform being banned in the United States.

A US appeals court upheld the law in a ruling Friday. Denying TikTok's argument that the law was unconstitutional, the judges found that the law does not "contravene the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States," nor does it "violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws."

The ruling, which TikTok is expected to appeal, means that the platform is one step closer to facing a US ban, unless it can convince Chinese parent-company ByteDance to sell and find a buyer, starting on January 19, 2025. After the deadline, US app stores and internet services could face hefty fines for hosting TikTok if it is not sold. (Under the legislation, Biden may issue a one-time extension of the deadline.)

President Joe Biden signed a bill in April that requires the platform to be sold to a new, non-Chinese owner or be banned in the United States, following years of concern on Capitol Hill that ByteDance poses a national security risk. In a hearing in September, attorneys for the US government argued that TikTok's algorithm is controlled by its Chinese parent company and could be used to influence American users.

TikTok sued to block the law in May, arguing that it infringed on the free speech of its more than 170 million American users, and unfairly singled out the platform.

In their ruling, the judges acknowledged that TikTok's American users "create and view all sorts of free expression and engage with one another and the world."

However, they wrote, "in part precisely because of the platform's expansive reach, Congress and multiple Presidents determined that divesting it from the (People's Republic of China's) control is essential to protect our national security."