The popular social media app’s fate now rests in the hands of the Supreme Court and the incoming Trump administration, which has offered tepid support at-best for TikTok in the wake of the election.
“TikTok is in an increasingly desperate situation,” Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, said in a statement.
“There’s a reason the law stipulated that the ban would take effect the day before the new administration is inaugurated and a new Congress begins,” she added. “No one wanted to relitigate this with a new set of political actors, but TikTok thinks that’s its best hope.”
The app sought to put the clock on hold Monday, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to temporarily block the law from going into effect Jan. 19 as it prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court.
TikTok noted the current deadline would cut off access for its 170 million U.S. users “on the eve of a presidential inauguration.”
TikTok also said that the app generates billions of dollars for the U.S. economy through its operations and the “advertising, marketing, and organic reach” on the platform.
It seems unlikely that the appeals court will enjoin its decision, said Wayne Unger, a law professor at Quinnipiac University.
If TikTok’s request is denied, it still can turn to the Supreme Court. It has asked the appeals court to make a decision by Monday, so it has time to file a motion with the high court to block the law from taking effect Jan. 19.
Owen Tedford, a senior research analyst with Beacon Policy Advisors, said he doesn’t expect the ban to go into effect next month if the Supreme Court takes up the case.
“I can easily see the Supreme Court granting the injunction instead,” Tedford said. “I don’t see a scenario where Jan. 19 comes, the app shuts down, but they’re still having a case coming in front of the Supreme Court.”
However, Tedford cautioned that it may face an “uphill battle.”
“I think the unanimous nature of the appeals court decision is somewhat telling,” he said. “I think it’s fair to take TikTok might be facing an uphill battle here, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unwinnable battle.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
