Federal appeals court upholds law that could ban TikTok, say platform could be unavailable in U.S.

A panel of three federal Appeals Court judges ruled unanimously to uphold a law Friday that could potentially ban TikTok in the U.S.

A panel of three federal appeals court judges ruled unanimously Friday to uphold a law that could potentially ban TikTok in the United States.

The legislation, passed in April by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden, requires TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it to an American owner by Jan. 19, 2025, or face an effective ban.

In a majority opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said, "We recognize that this decision has significant implications for TikTok and its users." If the platform does not divest, the court said it "will effectively be unavailable in the United States, at least for a time."

"Consequently, TikTok’s millions of users will need to find alternative media of communication," the opinion continued.

TikTok offices in Culver City, Calif.Bing Guan / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileFriday’s decision sets the table for TikTok to take its case to the Supreme Court. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/federal-judges-uphold-tiktok-ban-say-platform-us-rcna183106

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