The TikTok ban was upheld by the Federal Court

A US federal court has upheld the legality of a bipartisan action that the social media app could sue TikTok it will become inaccessible nationwide starting in January 2025. Lawyers representing TikTok are expected to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court, but currently face a deadline of January 19.

Earlier this year, the US Congress passed a bill ordering TikTok's parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell TikTok to another company or face a ban on the app throughout the United States. The bill was signed into law in April by President Joe Biden, who will leave office as president on Jan. 20, one day after the nationwide ban goes into effect. The intent of the ban, as previously explained by FBI Director Christopher Wray, is to curb the national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party against the United States.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on December 6 to uphold Congress's vote following a petition from TikTok. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” the court’s opinion states. “Here the government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary's ability to collect data on people in the United States.” The court's decision deals another blow to the social media app, as 13 US states are also suing TikTok over its perceived addictive qualities and risks to children's mental health. As of January, data showed around 170 million active TikTok users in the United States.

TikTok will have to appeal to the US Supreme Court to avoid the ban

While TikTok's fate now appears to rest with the Supreme Court, the upcoming presidential inauguration could still play a role. President-elect Donald Trump's planned tariff policies have taken a particularly tough stance on China, with campaign claims of introducing a 60% tariff on all goods entering the United States from that nation. Although Trump attempted a similar ban on TikTok through an executive order during his first term in 2020, Trump promised to save TikTok during his campaign. Furthermore, conservative justices on the Supreme Court outnumber liberals by a ratio of two to one, and Trump has nominated three of the nine justices of the nation's highest judicial body.

Increased opposition to social media is becoming more common not only in the United States, but in other nations as well. In late November, Australia passed a social media ban that will prevent anyone under 16 from using social media of any kind, and companies operating such social media platforms will face fines at the end of the grace of one year if you do not comply with the application of the ban.