TikTok loses emergency bid to delay US ‘divest or ban’ law

This decision intensifies the uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future in the country as the deadline approaches.

TikTok’s emergency motion, filed earlier in the week, sought to delay the enforcement of a law signed by President Joe Biden.

The law mandates that ByteDance must divest from TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban.

However, the appeals court dismissed the motion, stating there’s no history of blocking a law after ruling it constitutional.

“The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court.” 

The court added that TikTok’s petition had relied on claims of free speech violations, which the judges had already rejected in their original decision last week.

The ‘Divest or Ban’ law emerged as part of escalating concerns over TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance, a Chinese company.

The law builds on previous actions taken during the Trump administration, which sought to ban TikTok outright but faced legal and procedural roadblocks.

By introducing a clear deadline and divestment requirement, the ‘Divest or Ban’ law aims to resolve these issues while emphasizing the importance of safeguarding US data and security.

Following the ruling, TikTok announced its intention to escalate the case to the Supreme Court. The company emphasized the potential impact on its 170 million US users if the ban is enforced.

“As we have previously stated, we plan on taking this case to the Supreme Court, which has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech. The voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world will be silenced on January 19th, 2025 unless the TikTok ban is halted,” TikTok said in a statement.

TikTok has strongly opposed the law, describing it as unconstitutional. The company also claims that divesting from ByteDance is technically “unfeasible” within the given timeframe.

Beijing has echoed TikTok’s stance, expressing opposition to any forced sale of the app.

If TikTok fails to divest, the app could be removed from app stores, and updates or downloads would be prohibited. This would affect millions of US users who rely on the platform for content creation, entertainment, and communication.