US Court Of Appeal Confirms TikTok Sales Rules, ByteDance Must Be Divested Before January 2024

JAKARTA A federal appeals court in the United States on Friday, December 6 upheld a law requiring China-based parent company TikTok, ByteDance, to divest TikTok assets in the US by January 2024 at the latest. Otherwise, the popular short video app will face a full ban.

This decision is a big win for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and opponents of China's proprietary apps, as well as a major blow to ByteDance. TikTok, which is used by about 170 million users in the US, is now facing a threat of ban in just six weeks.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has stated that the company will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. "Even though today's decision is disappointing, we will continue to fight to protect free speech on our platform," said Chew.

In a majority opinion written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, backed by Judge Neomi Rao, the court stressed the urgency of this law. The years' efforts of the two political branches to investigate the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform, and consider the solutions proposed by TikTok, give great weight to the need for this law," Ginsburg said.

Judge Ginsburg further added:

Judge Ginsburg also noted the huge impact of this decision on TikTok users in the US. The consequences, millions of TikTok users need to look for alternative communication media. This burden is due to the RRC's hybrid commercial threat to US national security, not by the US Government, which has been involved with TikTok through years of process to find alternative solutions.

Judge Neomi Rao in his supporting opinion highlighted the broad impact of this decision. "170 million Americans use TikTok to create and access various forms of free expression and interact with each other and the world. However, precisely because of the wide range of this platform, Congress and several Presidents have determined that divestment from Chinese control is very important to protect our national security," Rao said.

The court's decision stipulates that TikTok must divest before January 19, 2024. If the deadline is not met, US President Joe Biden has the authority to grant an extension of 90 days based on the progress of divestment. However, if nothing changes, TikTok will be temporarily banned in the United States.

This decision has major implications for TikTok and its users. Unless TikTok executes a eligible divestment before January 19, 2025, or the President provides a 90-day extension based on progress towards eligible divestment, its platform will not be available in the United States, at least temporarily." Ginsburg wrote.

This decision is a significant step in the US efforts to limit national security threats linked to China, but also poses a major challenge to the freedom of expression of millions of users on the platform. TikTok is now racing against time to avoid a full ban that could shake up the social media landscape in the United States.