U.S. Court Upholds Nationwide TikTok Ban Unless Divested by Chinese Ownership

U.S. Court Upholds Nationwide TikTok Ban Unless Divested by Chinese Ownership

A Washington D.C. federal appeals court has ruled in favor of the U.S. government, upholding a law requiring short-form video app TikTok to be sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban by January 19, 2025. National Security Concerns Cited The decision stems from national security anxieties surrounding the app's potential for data collection and manipulation by the Chinese government. The U.S. government argued that TikTok's vast user base in the United States, estimated at 170 million, presents a significant risk if user data is accessible to Chinese officials. First Amendment Concerns Raised TikTok countered the claims, asserting that U.S. user data is firewalled from its Chinese parent company and that the ban infringes upon the First Amendment rights of its users and creators. The appeals court acknowledged the First Amendment implications but ultimately sided with the government, citing the unique national security concerns posed by foreign ownershi…