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The trio of judges overseeing the appeal have reportedly been skeptical of TikTok’s opening arguments, while one analyst believes the US presidential election could influence the video app’s ultimate fate.
TikTok’s survival in the US hangs in the balance, as the company’s appeal to stop a national ban has officially begun – but it faces a tough challenge ahead.
The social media platform made its opening arguments at the Washington DC appeals court and told the panel of judges that a national ban would have a “staggering impact” on free speech. But the judges have reportedly been critical of TikTok’s case.
TikTok is facing the threat of a national ban in early 2025 if TikTok’s owner ByteDance does not sell its stake in the app. This is due to the US government’s concerns that TikTok’s connection to a Chinese company is a national security and data risk – something both companies deny.
The company struck back earlier this year by suing the US government in an attempt to stop the divestment bill – the recently passed legislation that could see TikTok banned nationwide.
But the first day has not been easy for the controversial platform. When TikTok’s lawyer Andrew Pincus stated that TikTok is “not owned” by China, one of the judges responded with the claim that TikTok is “subject to Chinese control”, the BBC reports. The Verge reported that the three judges seemed to ask more questions of TikTok than of the Department of Justice – which is defending the divestment bill.
TikTok has previously claimed that the divestment being demanded by the US government is not possible commercially, technologically, legally or within the required timeframe.
It won’t stop here
The case has been described by Forrester’s VP research director Mike Proulx as a “high stakes and very complicated conundrum” – the app has around 170m users in the US, including many content creators that get an income from using the platform.
As the Justice Department wants the appeals court to issue a ruling by December, Proulx said the case is “all but certain to escalate to the US Supreme Court”. But he also believes the upcoming US presidential election could have a significant impact on the case.
“You can bet its outcome will affect TikTok’s ultimate fate,” Proulx said. “It’s more than blatant hypocrisy if either candidate (having been active on TikTok themselves) bamboozled the young and vocal TikTok users that helped to elect them.
“In the end, we don’t believe TikTok is going anywhere in 2025. It’s become an outsized part of our culture, creators depend on it, and banning the app would effectively hand a monopoly on short-form video over to Meta – something that’s completely contrary to the DOJ’s concerted crackdown on Big Tech.”
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