TikTok's future in the US appears to be facing greater uncertainty. On Friday (December 6), the US Federal Court of Appeals rejected a legal challenge to TikTok's “ban if you don't sell it” bill and ruled that TikTok's parent company ByteDance (ByteDance) cannot sell the short video app before the January 19 deadline, TikTok will be banned in the US.

A panel of three judges in the U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the bill has withstood constitutional review and refuted Tiktok and ByteDance's arguments that “this regulation violates their rights and those of TikTok's US users.”

Since US President Joe Biden signed a new bill in April of this year, this popular social media app has faced the risk of being banned in the US.

Biden announced at the time that he had signed a foreign aid bill worth 95 billion dollars, which included a bill to force ByteDance to divest its US business using TikTok. The bill extends the divestment period of TikTok from 165 days to 270 days, and requires ByteDance not to hold more than 20% of its shares, otherwise it will face a nationwide US ban.

TikTok has 0.17 billion users in the US, many bloggers rely on the platform to earn revenue, and many users also entertain and communicate through the platform. If this bill is finally implemented, it will have a huge impact on this group.

What did the ruling say?

In the lawsuit, Tiktok and ByteDance challenged the “If You Don't Sell It” Act on multiple grounds, in part on the grounds that the regulation violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution, is an unconstitutional deprivation of public rights law, and unfairly targets these two companies.

The US Department of Justice, on the other hand, argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk.

The court apparently sided with the Ministry of Justice, saying that the government was trying to resolve national security issues and that the way the government chose to do so was not unconstitutional.

The appellate court ruling, written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg (Douglas Ginsburg), said the law was “carefully designed” and did not violate the First Amendment because the government did not intend to suppress content or require a certain mix of content on TikTok. Additionally, the judges dismissed claims that the Act was an unlawful denial of the Public Power Act or expropriation of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

What's going to happen next?

Tiktok and ByteDance are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court next, and it is unclear whether the court will accept the case.

TikTok said in a statement on Friday that the two companies are preparing to file a lawsuit in the High Court, claiming that the Supreme Court “has an established record in protecting Americans' right to freedom of speech.” A company spokesperson said, “We want them to do this on this important constitutional issue.”

Alan Morrison, a professor at George Washington University Law School, said he expected the Supreme Court to accept the case because the issues raised in the lawsuit were very novel. Morrison said that if this were to happen, lawyers from both companies would still have to persuade the court to approve their “emergency stay,” which would prevent the government from enforcing the January 19 divestment deadline set by law.

However, as a result, another increase will delay this process until the Chief Justice makes a ruling.

TikTok content creator Tiffany Cianci said she was not shocked by the court's ruling on Friday because lower courts usually listen to the executive branch in such cases. She believes that the company will have stronger evidence in the Supreme Court. “I believe the next stage is more likely to bring victory to TikTok and TikTok as a whole.”

What will Trump do?

Of course, another uncertain factor is President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term, but changed his mind during the recent presidential campaign and expressed opposition to such actions banning Tiktok.

The Trump transition team has not yet provided details on how Trump plans to fulfill his promise to “save TikTok,” but Caroline Leavitt (Caroline Leavitt), who was appointed as the next White House spokesperson, said in a statement last month that Trump plans to “deliver on” campaign promises.

Trump will take office on January 20 next year, and the task of enforcing and punishing any potential violators will fall on Trump's Department of Justice.

Some speculate that Trump may ask his Department of Justice to drop enforcement of this law. Meanwhile, Craig Singleton, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (Foundation for Defense of Democracies), said that enforcement discretion or executive orders cannot take precedence over existing laws, which leaves Trump “limited room for unilateral action.”

But Trump could do other things. He may invoke legal provisions to allow the president to decide on a sale or similar transaction, freeing TikTok from ByteDance's control. His other option is to push Congress to repeal the bill, but this also requires the support of congressional Republicans.

Michigan Republican Representative John Moolenaar (John Moolenaar), chairman of the House Special Committee on China, said in a statement issued on Friday that he believes President Trump will push US companies to buy TikTok and allow it to continue to be used in the US.

Does anyone want to buy TikTok?

Some investors, including Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in buying Tiktok.

This week, a spokesperson for Project Liberty (Project Liberty) launched by McCourt to protect online privacy said that all parties involved in the bid had unofficially pledged more than 20 billion dollars in funding.

ByteDance, on the other hand, said it won't sell TikTok. Furthermore, due to China's export controls, sales of TikTok's proprietary algorithm may also be blocked.

This means that if TikTok sells without an algorithm, American buyers are likely to only buy the platform's shell, which doesn't include the technology that makes the app great.

Edit/Rocky