The United States ratifies the blocking of TikTok and sets a deadline for its ban

The future of TikTok in the United States remains uncertain. The vertical video platform faces a possible ban in the North American market in 2025 if it does not break ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The app has been involved in a real legal battle since last April, when the current president of the United States, Joe Bidengave rise to a rule that would force TikTok to change hands so as not to disappear from the application stores in the United States.

Although TikTok appealed the decision, three federal appeals court judges unanimously upheld the measure, highlighting that the ban will remain in force unless the company changes ownership, setting a deadline of January 19, 2025.

«Unless TikTok executes a qualified divestiture before January 19, 2025 -or the President grants a 90-day extension based on progress on qualified divestment, – “Its platform will not be available in the United States, at least for a while,” details the document of the Federal Court of Appeals.

TikTok faces a ban in the United States

The measure affects millions of American users, as the relationship with ByteDance is considered to represent a threat to national security and the protection of American users’ data, as well as a danger to freedom of expression. If TikTok decides to appeal, it will have to do so before the Supreme Court before the order takes effect.

This is not the first time that TikTok faces a ban in the North American country, in 2024 Donald Trump tried to ban the app while he was in the White House. Now TikTok could be saved by Trump himself, who highlighted in his election campaign that limiting TikTok would unfairly benefit Facebook.

However, Trump’s room for maneuver to avoid the ban will be very limited. This is because his second presidency will begin on January 20, one day after the deadline for TikTok to be sold to another company and thus avoid being blocked from app stores in the United States.