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TikTok failed in an emergency request against a looming deadline under U.S. “divestment or ban” law, making the fate of the popular video app owned by China’s ByteDance more uncertain in China.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday denied an emergency motion filed earlier this week by the platform and its Chinese parent company to stay the law from taking effect next month while the Supreme Court takes up the challenge.
President Joe Biden signed the law earlier this year, which stipulates that if TikTok fails to spin off from its parent company by January 19, 2025, the day before Donald Trump takes office as the new president, the app The program will be banned in the country.
Last week, a U.S. appeals court upheld the law. TikTok then requested a temporary injunction.
“Petitioners found no case in which the court, after dismissing a constitutional challenge to an act of Congress, enjoined the bill from taking effect while it sought Supreme Court review,” the appeals court wrote in a brief order on Friday.
The court added that TikTok’s petition was based on allegations of a violation of free speech, which the judge had dismissed in an initial ruling last week.
The ruling now leaves TikTok’s future in the hands of the Supreme Court, which will need to decide whether to hear the appeal.
TikTok may also be hoping for help from Trump, who has pledged to “save” the app but has not made clear what mechanisms he will use to achieve that goal once he’s in the White House.
The U.S. Department of Justice believes TikTok poses a national security threat because of its ties to China and could be used for espionage or propaganda purposes. A U.S. House of Representatives committee sent letters to Apple and Google, which run popular app stores, on Friday, reminding them that updates or downloads of the TikTok app will be banned after a deadline unless TikTok is spun off.
TikTok denies the accusations and calls the law unconstitutional, while arguing that a spinoff is not technically “feasible” within the time frame. Beijing has also expressed opposition to the sale.
TikTok said in a statement on Friday: “As we have said before, we plan to take this case to the Supreme Court, which has a strong track record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech. Unless the TikTok ban is stopped, 2025 On January 19, 2019, the voices of more than 170 million Americans in the United States and around the world will be silenced.
Additional reporting by Stefania Palma in Washington
