Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled the TikTok sale-or-ban law is constitutional.
Why it matters: The three judge panel's opinion sets the stage for a Supreme Court fight if the higher court decides to take it on.
What's inside: "We recognize that this decision has significant implications for TikTok and its users," the opinion from the D.C. Circuit panel states.
- "Unless TikTok executes a qualified divestiture by January 19, 2025 — or the President grants a 90-day extension based upon progress towards a qualified divestiture" the platform "will effectively be unavailable in the United States, at least for a time."
- TikTok's millions of users will need to find an alternative platform, the court said, attributing the decision to China's national security threat to the U.S.
Catch up quick: DOJ argues that the law, signed in April, is necessary to protect from potential national security threats like data security breaches and foreign influence campaigns stemming from TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance.
- TikTok argues the law infringes on the freedom of speech rights of the millions of users on the app and of the company itself.
"The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States," the opinion states.
- "Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary's ability to gather data on people in the United States."
What's next: The Supreme Court will decide whether it wants to take the case on.
- The Justice Department and TikTok asked the court for the early December ruling in order to seek SCOTUS review before the law's mid-January deadline to sell.
What they're saying: "The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok said in a statement.
President-elect Trump has flip-flopped on banning TikTok, starting the process that put the company where it is today but then saying on the campaign trail he's opposed to a ban.
- If Trump decides TikTok is not a national security threat and has met the spirit of the law, courts are likely to defer to the president's judgement as they typically do, according to Jameel Jaffer, executive director Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
- Trump could also urge Congress to repeal the law.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from TikTok.
