This coming Monday there will be a court hearing that could determine the fate of TikTok in the United States. The D.C. Court of Appeals will hear a challenge to overturn the law, which could lead to a ban on the platform used by 170 million Americans. The hearing comes amid a presidential race in which both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are using TikTok to reach young voters.
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TikTok and ByteDance argue that the law is unconstitutional and violates Americans’ right to free speech. “This is a radical departure from our country’s commitment to an open Internet,” the companies said. Recall that the law was passed by the US Congress in April this year, just a few weeks after being introduced, amid concerns from lawmakers that China could gain access to the data of American users or use the application for spying.
ByteDance insists that the sale of TikTok to an American company, as required by law, is “technologically, commercially and legally impossible” and without court intervention will lead to an unprecedented ban on the application on January 19, 2025. On Monday, US judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg will consider lawsuits filed by TikTok and its users. In turn, TikTok and the US Department of Justice asked the court to make a decision by December 6, which will allow the Supreme Court to consider the issue before the ban comes into force.
Joe Biden, who signed the bill in April and gave ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok, could nevertheless extend that deadline by three months if he is presented with evidence that ByteDance is taking steps toward a sale. At the same time, the White House and other supporters of the law insist on ending the control of the application by the Chinese company, citing a threat to national security, and emphasize that their goal is not to ban TikTok, but to change its owner.