TikTok Appeals to Supreme Court to Overturn Law Threatening U.S. Ban by January 19, 2025

Dec 15, 2024, 09:38 AM

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance are set to appeal a recent federal law to the U.S. Supreme Court, which requires the company to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban. The law, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, gives ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to sell TikTok to a U.S. buyer or cease operations in the country. TikTok has argued that the law violates First Amendment rights, but a panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law's constitutionality. The company has expressed its intention to take the case to the Supreme Court, which has a history of protecting free speech. Amidst this legal battle, billionaire Frank McCourt has shown interest in acquiring TikTok if ByteDance is forced to sell, and TikTok has started preparing users for a potential ban by allowing them to request their data. The potential ban would affect over 170 million American users.