TikTok will continue to appeal the ban in the US

TikTok still hopes to continue operating in the US, even though ByteDance has previously said it will not sell the app.

On December 13, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected TikTok's emergency request to block a ban on the platform, arguing that TikTok's request was "without merit." The move paves the way for the Supreme Court to decide the fate of the popular video -sharing app.

TikTok sẽ tiếp tục kháng cáo với lệnh cấm tại Mỹ

TikTok icon on mobile phone screen.

In April, US President Joe Biden signed a law requiring TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, to transfer ownership to a non-Chinese company.

The Biden administration had previously urged the appeals court not to halt the law, noting that it would allow TikTok to delay its appeal to the Supreme Court for months and invalidate the law indefinitely.

TikTok spokesman Michael Hughes said on December 6 that he hoped the Supreme Court, with its history of protecting Americans' free speech rights, would continue that tradition in their case and block the ban from going into effect.

The Supreme Court could rule quickly. Both TikTok and the federal government have previously asked the Court of Appeals to expedite the ruling so that an appeal can take place before the Jan. 19 ban.

However, attorney Josh Schiller of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner said earlier this month that the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, would likely uphold the TikTok ban on national security grounds.

Speaking to CNN , Gautam Hans, a professor at Cornell Law School, said that the Supreme Court could decide not to review the case, and if that happens, TikTok will be out of hope.

The US Department of Justice recently said that if the ban on TikTok goes into effect, it will not directly ban the use of TikTok for the app's more than 170 million monthly users. However, users will not be able to update or download the app if the ban is applied.

The US House of Representatives has sent a letter to Apple and Google reminding them that it is illegal to maintain TikTok on the App Store and Play Store after January 19, 2025.

According to Reuters, on December 13, Chairman of the House Committee on China John Moolenaar and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi sent a letter to Apple and Google mentioning the issue that TikTok will be banned in the US unless it divests.

According to Forbes, Google, Apple, and companies that currently host app store data like Oracle and Amazon Web Services, could face huge fines if they continue to work with TikTok after the deadline.

Unless TikTok can convince the court to grant more time or block the law from taking effect, ByteDance's video app will have to be removed from the Play Store and App Store after that date.

TikTok still hopes to continue operating in the US, even though ByteDance has previously said it will not sell the app.

President Biden could extend the 90-day pre-ban period only once if he sees significant progress on ByteDance’s sale of TikTok, but so far, Biden has given no indication that he will do so.

President-elect Donald Trump, who began his term the day after the TikTok ban took effect, once wanted to ban TikTok but has since backed it. However, he will face significant political and legal challenges at home and from tech giants.

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