US Federal Appeals Court upholds TikTok ban, if this continues, 170 million TikTok users will disappear in January 2025

In April 2024, the United States passed the 'TikTok Ban Act,' which ordered TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok. TikTok and prominent TikTok users argued that this law 'violates the United States Constitution,' but on December 6, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the TikTok Ban Act.

24-1113-2088317.pdf
https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/2024/12/24-1113-2088317.pdf

TikTok on verge of ban after losing in court - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/6/24297454/tiktok-divest-or-ban-dc-circuit-court-appeals

US TikTok Ban Is Upheld by Appeals Court - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/tik-tok-congress-ban-court-ruling-1f0d6837

Federal appeals court upholds law that could ban TikTok, say platform could be unavailable in US
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/federal-judges-uphold-tiktok-ban-say-platform-us-rcna183106

In April 2024, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , and current President Joe Biden signed it .

This law requires that if a social networking app is determined by the US President and related provisions to be a 'foreign adversary controlled application,' it must be prohibited from being distributed, maintained, or made available within 270 to 360 days. TikTok, which is controlled by China, which has been designated a 'hostile foreign nation,' is also required by law to be sold to a US company, and if it is not sold, it will not be able to distribute the app in the US. Since this law was created with the intention of banning TikTok in mind, it is also known as the TikTok Ban Act.

Although continuing to use TikTok itself is not a crime, companies that operate app distribution stores such as Google and Apple will be prohibited from making the TikTok app available for download or update, and companies that violate the law will be fined $5,000 (about 750,000 yen) for each user. In other words, companies that violate the law could be fined hundreds of billions of dollars (tens of trillions of yen) in total.

Naturally, TikTok is opposed to the bill, and has filed a challenge to it in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that the ban violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution , which guarantees freedom of expression and speech.

TikTok sues over US ban - GIGAZINE

However, on December 6, a panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ruled that the TikTok ban is constitutional. In their opinion, the court argued that the national security risks posed by TikTok and the remedies proposed by TikTok have been investigated and considered by the political branch for several years, which is a major advantage in justifying the law.

In response to this ruling, TikTok issued a statement on X, hoping that the Supreme Court would overturn it. In the statement, they said, 'The Supreme Court has a proven track record of protecting the free speech of Americans, and we hope that they will do the same in this important constitutional issue. Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed forward based on inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, leading to complete censorship of the American people. Unless the TikTok ban is stopped, the voices of more than 170 million Americans in the United States and around the world will be silenced on January 19, 2025.'

TikTok Statement on Court Decision:

'The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue. Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through…

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) December 6, 2024

On the other hand, President-elect Donald Trump, who is scheduled to take office on January 20, 2025, has taken a favorable stance toward TikTok, including actively using TikTok in his election campaign. He also stated that 'Facebook would be bigger without TikTok,' and 'I'm not looking to double the size of Facebook. If we ban TikTok, other social media, especially Facebook, would benefit greatly. I think Facebook is very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,' expressing his position that a competitor to Facebook is necessary. Therefore, it is expected that the TikTok ban may be revoked under the second Trump administration.

However, Bloomberg, a business newspaper, points out that Trump's views are inconsistent, and it may be difficult to persuade national security agencies and influential Republican lawmakers to oppose TikTok. In addition, he had dinner with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on November 27, and it has been reported that the relationship between the two is improving, and his tough stance against Facebook is softening.

TikTok Ban: Trump May Change His Mind Again - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-12-06/trump-might-change-his-mind-about-tiktok-ban-again

Bloomberg said, 'Now that Trump no longer needs votes, TikTok's existence is of little benefit to him,' suggesting that Trump is unlikely to repeal the TikTok ban.