TikTok ban upheld by US court

A US federal appeals court has upheld a law requiring ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell its operations in the United States by January 19. The decision, made by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is a significant victory for the US government. The ruling is based on concerns over national security and the potential for data collection by the Chinese government. The law in question requires ByteDance to divest from TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, or face a ban on the app. This would be the first time a major social media app has been banned in the US, and it would jeopardize billions in ad revenue for the company. ByteDance is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Some legal experts have criticized the decision, citing concerns over free speech and the potential for censorship. The ruling intensifies the platform's legal and operational challenges, and it could strain US-China relations.