How Trump could affect it

TikTok is closer to being banned in the US after a new law that could lead to the ban was unanimously upheld by a panel of federal judges.

With 170 million Americans using TikTok, this decision will sound the death knell for the app in one of its biggest markets.

The judges of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected TikTok’s petition to overturn the law.

According to the law, in order for TikTok to operate in the US, the Chinese owner of the app – ByteDance is required to sell the app to a non-Chinese company by January. This comes amid growing concerns that TikTok is a national security issue under ByteDance.

Lawmakers and officials have said the Chinese government would retrieve and use sensitive information from the app about Americans and spread propaganda, though there is no public evidence that this is happening. It is also interesting to note that the Chinese government has banned Facebook and Youtube in China and TikTok is not allowed there.

The app has kept free speech central to the argument and has sparked concern from content creators and influencers whose incomes depend on it. The American Civil Liberties Union said the decision is “a major blow to free speech online” that sets dangerous precedents for other foreign-owned platforms.

TikTok will move to the Supreme Court and expects a different outcome on the same, although there is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will take it up.

“The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect them to do just that on this important constitutional issue,” said Michael Hughes, a spokesman for TikTok. He also said the ban is “a direct censorship of the American people” and that it is “based on inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information”.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says the ruling is “an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok.”

In addition, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed the app, but the law will take effect a day before his inauguration. According to New York Timessome experts speculate that Trump could ask his new attorney general to refrain from enforcing it, but that in turn could put Apple and Google in a delicate situation with the law, which limits that companies that distribute TikTok in their stores will be punished.

In any case, Trump had said in September: “To all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump” and said that a TikTok ban would only help Meta and Mark Zuckerberg, whom he considers “an enemy of the people “. But given his hawkish stance on China, anything is possible.

Trump currently has 14.6 million followers on TikTok.