In this photo illustration, popular social media apps X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook Messenger are seen.
© Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Washington, DC) – A law that requires TikTok to either sell itself to an American company — or face an outright US ban — was upheld on Friday. The law was kept in place by a federal appeals court panel. ByteDance, a Chinese company, owns TikTok. And some lawmakers — as well as others — have said that makes it a national security risk.
In April, President Biden signed the law into effect. It passed as a result of efforts from both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. Lawmakers argued their efforts aimed to protect US interests.
TikTok has argued the forced sale violates the company’s First Amendment rights. The company also maintains it won’t sell because the TikTok algorithm or program that runs it is vital to ByteDance’s long term interests. Both President Biden and President-elect Trump made use of TikTok during the campaign season. It is by most measurements the most popular social media platform, especially among younger Americans.
