US appeals court upholds law forcing TikTok's sale

A US federal appeals court on Dec 6 upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok in the US by early 2025 or face a ban.

The ruling could be appealed to the Supreme Court or full appeals court panel.

US appeals court judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg considered the legal challenges brought by TikTok and users against the law that gives ByteDance until Jan 19 to sell or divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban.

The appeals court said the law "was the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and by successive presidents. It was carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary, and it was part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC (People's Republic of China)."