US Court Rejects TikTok’s Request to Block Ban
On December 13, Reuters reported that a federal court in the United States has denied TikTok’s request to halt the impending ban of the app in the country. This case reflects the ongoing tension between TikTok—a leading social media platform with over 170 million monthly users in the US—and concerns regarding national security.
In this ruling, the court stated that TikTok had not provided sufficient justification to prevent the government from proceeding with the next steps in the risk assessment process related to national security. US officials expressed concern that TikTok’s data could be transferred to the Chinese government, raising the potential for surveillance and violations of users’ privacy.
It is noteworthy that TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. According to the law, TikTok will be banned unless ByteDance divests its ownership before January 19, 2025. This law also gives the US government broad authority to ban other foreign-owned applications that may raise similar concerns about user data collection.
Due to this ruling, TikTok is compelled to urgently appeal to the Supreme Court to try to prevent the ban from being enforced.
What Does the Future Hold for TikTok in the US?
The ongoing conflict between TikTok and the US government has been long-standing. Moreover, this situation is just one of many complex developments in the tech and privacy sectors that countries are currently grappling with.
According to The Guardian, if the Supreme Court does not intervene, TikTok’s fate will rest in the hands of President Joe Biden—who will have the power to decide whether to grant another 90 days for ByteDance to divest its shares or not. Following this, when Donald Trump takes office on January 20, it may pose a significant challenge for TikTok, as Trump had previously attempted to ban the app during his first term in 2020 but was unsuccessful.
Source: Total Compilation
