On Friday, a federal appeals court reportedly upheld a law that mandates TikTok’s Chinese parent company to either sell the popular app or face a U.S. ban.
The law does not violate the First Amendment, as TikTok has argued, according to a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The decision brings a ban one step closer to actuality, with the law set to take effect in just over a month.
The divest-or-ban law was swiftly passed by Congress earlier this year in response to the pervasive bipartisan national security concerns regarding the app’s parent company, ByteDance, which is headquartered in China.
It was signed by President Biden in April.
ByteDance has approximately nine months, or until January 19, to either divest from TikTok or risk a ban on U.S. networks and app stores, as stipulated by the law.
Nevertheless, Biden may choose to grant the company a 90-day extension.
In May, TikTok and ByteDance, along with numerous other content creators, filed a lawsuit to prevent the law from being implemented. They contended that divestment was practically impossible.
Consequently, they argue that the law is unconstitutional, as it effectively prohibits TikTok on a national scale.
The court sided with the Biden administration, concluding that the government’s national security concerns justify the “significant” impacts of the TikTok prohibition.
As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office, the status of the divest-or-ban law remains uncertain, despite the administration’s victory.
Trump has modified his position on TikTok, claiming that a ban would empower Facebook and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, despite having previously initiated similar efforts to ban the app during his first term.
In September, the former president encouraged Americans to vote for him in order to “save TikTok” while on the campaign trail.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has reportedly contacted tech magnate and close Trump ally Elon Musk for insight into the incoming administration, as a new Trump term is on the horizon.
[READ MORE: Speaker Johnson Expresses His Intention to Defund Planned Parenthood]
