TikTok‘s attempt to challenge a law that could lead to its ban or forced sale in the United States by early 2025 has been denied.
A federal appeals court was the focus of the social media company’s hopes as it sought to validate its claim that the law was unconstitutional, citing a “staggering” effect on the free speech rights of its 170 million users in the United States.
The court affirmed the law, representing “the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and successive presidents.”
TikTok has announced its intention to escalate its legal battle to the US Supreme Court, the nation’s highest judicial body.
The United States is pushing for the sale or ban of TikTok, citing alleged connections between its owners and the Chinese government—claims that both TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have consistently refuted.
The court acknowledged that the legislation was “carefully crafted to address only the control exerted by a foreign adversary, and it formed part of a wider initiative to combat a well-documented national security threat presented by the PRC (People’s Republic of China).”
TikTok has indicated that its legal battle is far from over.
A spokesperson for TikTok stated, “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.”
They stated that the legislation was founded on “inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information,” asserting that a ban would infringe upon the rights of US citizens.
Donald Trump’s potential victory in the 2024 US Presidential Election could significantly boost the app.
In the lead-up to the November elections, he stated that he would prevent the implementation of a TikTok ban despite having tried unsuccessfully to prohibit the platform during his first term in 2020.
Trump will be inaugurated on January 20, coinciding with the deadline established by law for TikTok to be banned or sold.
It is yet to be determined if he will fulfil his promise made during the election campaign.
Professor James Grimmelmann from Cornell University remarked that the president-elect would face significant challenges in providing TikTok with a reprieve.
“The sentiment against China within the US Congress has intensified, leading to significant support from both political parties for restricting TikTok’s presence in the US market,” he stated.
Consumers and competitors
The ongoing court case has garnered significant attention from TikTok users and its competitors in the social media landscape.
Tiffany Cianci, a small business advocate and TikTok creator, said she was “not shocked” by Friday’s decision. In an interview with BBC News, she stated that she would not be moving her TikTok content or presence to competing platforms like Instagram.
“I refuse to comply with their demands and transfer my content to platforms that do not yield the same level of success, where censorship is more probable, and where I would have diminished control over my audience,” she stated.
Various platforms are strategically preparing for a future beyond TikTok in the evolving social media landscape.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, is actively working to create competitors to TikTok’s short-form video format across its platforms. The company has implemented modifications that users have compared to TikTok, raising concerns about the app’s future in the United States.
Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at eMarketer, warned of “major upheaval” should a TikTok appeal fail at the Supreme Court and lead to an enforced ban.
She stated that this would “benefit Meta, YouTube, and Snap while adversely affecting content creators and small businesses that depend on the app for their livelihoods.”
Cory Johnson, Chief Market Strategist at Epistrophy Capital Research, emphasised that replicating TikTok will not be straightforward. According to Johnson, the recommendation engine of TikTok is driven by deep learning models.
“The implementation of advanced AI and extensive data processing at TikTok’s vast scale necessitates a significant and costly technical infrastructure,” Johnson stated.
He highlighted the significant risks posed by TikTok’s hyper-targeting and China’s data laws, citing Elon Musk’s algorithm changes at his social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, as a cautionary example.
As the US election approaches, Musk’s political posts have garnered more views than all US political campaign advertisements, according to Johnson’s analysis of X’s disclosure dataset.
“He noted that America has had significant and recent experience with a social media network adjusting its algorithms to prioritise specific voices.”
