Following the US court's decision to reject TikTok's request for a ban postponement, what measures are on the horizon for the platform?
The DC Appeals Court on a Friday dismisses a temporary halt on TikTok's ban, labeling such a move as unnecessary. This decision opens up the possibility for the Supreme Court to eventually decide TikTok's future.
In April, President Biden signed a bill mandating TikTok, owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, to be sold to a non-Chinese entity. This latest judgment follows the Appeals Court's decision last week to uphold this law, citing national security concerns.
The Biden administration advocated against the temporary block of the law, arguing that it could enable TikTok to delay its appeal to the Supreme Court for months, effectively putting the law on hold indefinitely.
"The Supreme Court has a well-established history of safeguarding American's right to free speech, and we anticipate they will uphold this principle in this critical constitutional matter," stated TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes on December 6.
What shape will TikTok's next appeal take?
The Supreme Court could issue a swift verdict on the case. Both TikTok and the government had previously requested the Appeals Court to expedite its ruling in order to appeal the case prior to January 19's ban.
However, the conservative-majority Supreme Court appears poised to uphold the ban, as per Joshua Schiller, a partner at law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, who spoke with CNN earlier this month.
"I find it hard to imagine that the conservative faction on the Supreme Court would not see this as a national security matter," Schiller explained.
Gautam Hans, the Associate Director of the First Amendment Clinic and a professor at Cornell Law School, told CNN earlier this month that the Supreme Court might decide not to review the case entirely, leaving TikTok with no recourse.
Is deletion of the app necessary?
It isn't compulsory.
The Department of Justice declared on Wednesday that, if the ban is implemented, it would not preclude the use of TikTok by its more than 170 million monthly users. While updated content and new downloads may not be readily available, the app will continue to function for existing users.
However, the CEOs of Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, received a bipartisan letter from two House of Representatives' Committee on China leaders, advising them to prepare to eliminate TikTok from their US app stores on January 19.
Additionally, TikTok will become unavailable on hosting platforms online. The Department of Justice warned users that they can anticipate the app to become "eventually" inoperable.
Can the ban be avoided?
There's still a possibility that TikTok can continue operating in the United States, albeit ByteDance has expressed no intention to sell it.
The ban's law leaves some leeway for Biden to grant a 90-day extension if a company demonstrates significant progress towards a sale. So far, Biden has not indicated any intentions to this end.
President-elect Donald Trump, who assumes office the day after the ban, might advocate for TikTok. In July, he expressed his intention not to ban TikTok — although he did attempt to do so during his first term.
Trump could ask Congress to repeal the law, although experts consider this an improbable scenario. Alternatively, he could instruct the attorney general not to enforce the law or declare that TikTok is no longer subject to the law, as University of Minnesota associate law professor Alan Rozenshtein explained to CNN last month.
CNN's Clare Duffy, Brian Fung and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
The business of TikTok could significantly impact its future as it navigates the potential ban and potential sale.
Given the national security concerns raised by the government, TikTok may need to find a non-Chinese buyer in order to continue operating in the United States.
