The federal appeals court in Washington rejected TikTok’s appeal on Friday against a law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the application, under penalty of a ban in the United States. This text, adopted in April by a large majority in Congress, aims to prevent the risks of espionage and manipulation by the Chinese authorities. The deadline for complying with this obligation has been set for January 19, 2025.
In a press release sent to AFP, TikTok announced its intention to take the matter to the Supreme Court, declaring that the latter “has demonstrated its ability to protect the freedom of expression of Americans”. However, there is no guarantee that the highest court will agree to examine this case.
A contested law, but deemed legitimate
ByteDance, the application’s parent company, said it had no plans to sell TikTok, one of its most valuable assets. Taking legal action therefore constitutes its final option to continue operating in the United States. TikTok, which claims 170 million active users in the country, has always denied having transmitted data to the Chinese government, adding that it would refuse any request to do so.
In its appeal, TikTok mainly argued that this law violated the right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by the American Constitution. The judges of the court of appeal, however, rejected this argument. According to their decision, released Friday, the law specifically aims to “address control by a non-U.S. entity and possible data collection by Chinese authorities.” “The contents could, in principle, remain the same after a transfer,” wrote the magistrates, thus excluding any obstacle to freedom of expression.
A decision applauded by Congress
The court’s decision was welcomed by John Moolenaar, a Republican elected to the House of Representatives and chairman of the special committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “This decision is a victory for the American people and TikTok users and a defeat for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” he said.
This situation is far from the first confrontation between TikTok and the American authorities. In 2020, Donald Trump signed executive orders aimed at banning the application for similar reasons. These attempts were blocked by the courts, which then cited a possible attack on freedom of expression.
A threat to users and advertisers
If the law is applied in the absence of a takeover or invalidation, TikTok could be banned as early as January 19, 2025. “The ban on TikTok (…) will silence 170 million Americans (…) on January 19, 2025,” warned a company spokesperson.
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This disappearance would have major consequences, according to Damian Rollison, of the marketing firm SOCi. “They would have to quickly pivot to alternatives like Instagram or YouTube Shorts,” he explained, referring to small businesses and advertisers who use TikTok to promote their products.
