Will TikTok be banned? We’ll find out soon.

Published: December 2, 2024

Will TikTok be banned? We’ll find out soon.

By Movieguide® staff

On December 6th, a US federal appeals court will decide whether to ban TikTok in the US

“President-elect Donald Trump has said he will not allow TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, to be banned,” Reuters reported on November 25.

If passed, the law will come into force in January.

There are several ways the court could decide.

“District Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg are currently reviewing TikTok and users’ legal challenges to the law, which gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell or dispose of TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban,” said Reuters.

“The court could decide to uphold the law, affirming the U.S. government’s position and likely forcing TikTok to quickly appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court or the full District of Columbia,” Reuters reported.

Or the court could uphold the law but decide it is unfair to TikTok and delay the ban.

“The Justice Department says Chinese-owned TikTok poses a serious threat to national security because it has access to Americans’ extensive personal data, and alleges China can secretly manipulate information Americans consume on TikTok,” Reuters said.

“The court could decide to uphold the law,” but also say the ban is unfair by invoking the Constitution’s ban on bills of attainder. — Laws that punish a particular entity, class, or person. This would allow the government to pursue TikTok as a national security threat, which would delay the ban as the government decides how to deal with the official threat.

READ MORE: Montana state legislature passes bill to completely ban Tiktok

However, ABC reported: “There is little evidence that TikTok shared US user data with the Chinese government or that the Chinese government requested the app to do so, cybersecurity experts previously told ABC News.”

The court could also rule that the ban violates the right to free speech, as TikTok claims.

“They call it ‘a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet,'” Reuters said. “The Justice Department could appeal to the Supreme Court or the full Court of Appeals.”

Channel News Asia reported: “Government lawyers have asked the court for a December decision to allow time for appeals before the January deadline. If the litigation drags on beyond Trump’s inauguration, the Justice Department under the new administration could abandon its defense of the law.”

READ MORE: COULD A TIKTOK BAN LEAD VIEWERS BACK TO STREAMING AND TV?