TikTok’s future in the US is now up to the courts

The clock’s still Tik-ing on the future of the internet’s favorite short-form video app.

On Monday, TikTok appeared before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals regarding several lawsuits challenging the law that President Joe Biden signed earlier this year, which calls for the app’s parent company ByteDance to sell it to a non-Chinese buyer or risk a ban in the US as early as January.

During the two-hour hearing, lawyers for TikTok argued that the law is unconstitutional, claiming that it limits free speech, and that Congress did not provide sufficient evidence of the app’s alleged security threats. TikTok creators Talia Cadet, Paul Tran, and Kiera Spann, who are plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits, were among those present at the hearing.

The three judges presiding—appointed by Trump, Obama, and Reagan, respectively—seemed interested in First Amendment concerns around TikTok’s US operation and users, per the New York Times, but at least two of the judges seemed less interested in TikTok’s argument that Congress has a lack of authority to pass the law in question.

Because some evidence submitted by the Department Of Justice is classified and sealed, it’s hard to get a sense of the judges’ perspectives on the government’s security claims or predict what their final decision could look like.

Party games: With a presidential election on the horizon—and only 32% of Americans in support of the ban, according to Pew Research—trying to pin down either candidate’s stance on the potential ban has been…tricky.

• Despite trying to ban the app while in office, former President Donald Trump has done a 180 on this year’s campaign trail, posting earlier this month on Truth Social that he plans to “save TikTok” if elected and posting videos to the platform. The Washington Post reported earlier this year that Trump’s change of heart could be connected to lobbying efforts connected to billionaire Jeff Yass, whose investment company owns 15% of ByteDance.
• Vice President Harris has not recently commented on the looming potential TikTok ban, but her campaign has been using the platform extensively since July, and the Biden-Harris administration hosted its first creator conference with TikTokers last month. Prior to President Biden signing the divest-or-ban bill into law, Harris acknowledged TikTok’s role as “an income generator for many people,” and said the administration had “no intention” of banning the platform.

Worth noting: While the new president could ask Congress to repeal or change the law, Politico wrote that there’s “little [they] could do to save TikTok unilaterally,” especially since the original bill passed with bipartisan support.

So, what’s next? Lawyers on both sides have asked the judges to share their decision before December 6, with many anticipating the losing party to appeal to the Supreme Court.