Will TikTok Be Banned? We’ll Soon Find Out.
By Movieguide® Contributor
On Dec. 6, a U.S. Federal Appeals court will rule on whether TikTok will be banned in the U.S.
“President-elect Donald Trump has said he will not allow TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, to be banned,” Reuters reported Nov. 25.
If passed, the law will go into effect in January.
There are several ways in which the court could rule.
“Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg are currently considering the legal challenges brought by TikTok and users against the law that gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell or divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban,” Reuters said.
“The court could rule to uphold the law, validating the U.S. government’s position and likely compelling TikTok to quickly appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court or to the full District of Columbia circuit,” Reuters reported.
Or the court could uphold the law but decide it’s unfair to TikTok and delay the ban.
“The Justice Department says TikTok under Chinese ownership poses a serious national security threat because of its access to vast personal data of Americans, asserting China can covertly manipulate information that Americans consume via TikTok,” Reuters said.
“The Court could rule to uphold the law” but also say the ban is unfair by referencing the Constitution’s prohibition of “Bills of Attainder” — laws that punish a specific entity, class or person. This would allow the government to persecute TikTok as a national security threat, which would delay the ban as the government determines how to address it as an official threat.
READ MORE: MONTANA STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES LAW TO FULLY BAN TIKTOK
However, ABC reported, “There is little evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or that the Chinese government has asked the app to do so, cybersecurity experts previously told ABC News.”
The court could also decide that the ban is unconstitutional under free speech rights, as TikTok claims.
“They call it ‘a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet,’” Reuters said. “The Justice Department could appeal to the Supreme Court or full appeals court panel.”
Channel News Asia reported, “Government lawyers have asked the court for a December decision to allow time for appeals before the January deadline. If litigation drags on past Trump’s inauguration, the Justice Department under the new administration could drop its defence of the law.”
READ MORE: COULD A TIKTOK BAN DRIVE VIEWERS BACK TO STREAMING AND TV?
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