TikTok has lost its challenge to a law that would have forced it to sell its valuable social media or face a US ban that will take effect on January 19, 2025.

The New York Times first announced on Friday that the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had rejected TikTok’s appeal. President Joe Biden signed a law in April setting a timetable for China’s ByteDance to divest from TikTok, citing national security concerns about the app’s widespread use in the US.

The US cited concerns that ByteDance, or by extension the Chinese government, could manipulate TikTok’s algorithm to shift US public opinion or push pro-China narratives, particularly on sensitive issues.

The ban gained momentum in the wake of widespread protests on college campuses against Israel after its forces began bombing the Gaza Strip following an October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people.

The three justices — two Republicans and one Democrat — overseeing the decision rejected TikTok’s First Amendment arguments. The justices did not accept that any First Amendment rights prevented the government from restricting the operation of a company, especially one subject to the laws and influence of a foreign power.

The justices also cited wartime precedent that would allow the United States to limit foreign ownership of broadcast licenses, and challenged Andrew Pincus, a lawyer for TikTok, on whether the law would apply if the U.S. were involved in a war, according to the Associated Press.

“Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and enforced based on inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in direct censorship of the American people,” the spokesperson said. “The TikTok ban, if not stopped, will silence the voices of more than 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19, 2025.”

What does the Court of Appeal decision mean?

The court’s rejection leaves ByteDance and TikTok with one option – to appeal again and take their case to the US Supreme Court as a result of the appeals court relying on the First Amendment in its ruling.

The Supreme Court would then hear the case and determine the constitutionality of the ban in what could prove to be a landmark case for social media and First Amendment rights. If a court were to take up the case, it could delay implementation of the law until the judges consider it.

But the law may disappear before the Supreme Court even has a chance to consider it because of President-elect Donald Trump’s changing stance on the ban.

Will TikTok be banned in the US?

Trump’s re-election adds a new wrinkle to the TikTok story. During his first administration, he tried to ban TikTok, but during his re-election campaign this year, he said he opposed the ban and instead claimed he would “save TikTok”.

How he might do that remains unclear, as the law signed by Biden offers few options for overturning the ban. Primarily, Trump would have to pressure both houses of Congress to support the repeal, which he could then sign into law.

However, the House overwhelmingly voted in favor of the ban, 352-65, while the Senate saw 79 members vote in favor.

ABC News suggested that Trump’s new Justice Department could simply refuse to enforce the law or fine Apple and Google for not complying.

If ByteDance chooses to comply with the US rulings and divest itself, it could sell to a number of willing and eager buyers, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading a consortium seeking to acquire the company’s US business.

McCourt’s Project Liberty also announced that unnamed participants have committed to buy TikTok for more than $20 billion in equity.

TikTok, the world’s most popular social media platform, was launched in 2016 and has grown rapidly. The company now boasts more than 100 offices in dozens of major cities, including New York, London, Singapore, Paris, Dubai, Jakarta, Istanbul, Tokyo, Cairo and Mumbai.

In 2021, TikTok claimed to have more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it the fastest growing social network at the time.

Update, 12/6/24 at 3:35 PM ET: These articles have been updated with a statement from TikTok.