Court upholds a U.S. ban on TikTok
NPRCourt upholds a U.S. ban on TikTok toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law banning TikTok nationwide unless the viral video app was sold off by its China-based parent company, rejecting TikTok's claim that the crackdown violates the free speech rights of millions of Americans. In its ruling, the court said that it was "precisely" because of TikTok's "expansive reach" that both Congress and the president determined that divesting it from China's control "is essential to protect our national security." In its opinion, the court wrote that TikTok's ownership by a China-based company, ByteDance, represents a national security threat that surpasses the free speech concerns TikTok raised. Trump, who during his first administration tried to put TikTok out of business, reversed his position on the campaign trail, citing in one social media post that a TikTok ban would only boost the business of Meta, which he has criticized for his unproven belief that the social media company hurt him in the 2020 presidential election.