Monday, 12 January 2026

TikTok Faces Ban In United States, Federal Appeals Court Upholds Law Forcing Parent Company To Divest


A federal appeals court upheld a law that would ban TikTok in the United States if the video-sharing app’s Chinese parent company does not divest by January 19th.

A panel of three judges ruled unanimously to uphold the ban.

“The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied TikTok’s request to review the law,” POLITICO noted.

WATCH:

From POLITICO:

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance had sued to block the law in May, arguing that it suppresses speech by banning a platform used by more than half the U.S. population.

“An appellate court just upheld the bipartisan law — signed by Biden — to force ByteDance to sell TikTok or have it fully banned in the US. Empowering the USG to ban major social media is a dangerous power which Trump, thankfully, has vowed to reverse,” Glenn Greenwald said.

Per NBC News:

The legislation, passed in April by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden, requires TikTok to sell to an American owner by Jan. 19, 2025, or face a ban.

In the court’s majority opinion, the justices said, “We recognize that this decision has significant implications for TikTok and its users.” If the platform does not divest, the court said it “will effectively be unavailable in the United States, at least for a time.”

“Consequently, TikTok’s millions of users will need to find alternative media of communication,” the opinion continued.

President-elect Donald Trump can grant a 90-day extension “based upon progress” toward the divestiture order, the opinion said. During his campaign, Trump said he would “save TikTok” if elected.


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