A federal appeals court rejected TikTok's December 9 emergency bid to halt its scheduled ban. TikTok will now have to quickly take the case to the Supreme Court.

The Details: Without further developments, the app will disappear from major digital application stores on January 19.

For Context: President Joe Biden signed a law with bipartisan support that stated TikTok must find a new owner or be banned. The U.S. has cited national security concerns over TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, being Chinese. President-elect Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first presidency, though was unsuccessful, and has since changed stances. Trump’s incoming presidency could see the app’s fate change, though his inauguration will come one day after the ban is scheduled to take effect.

How the Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum highlighted that TikTok could be benefited by Trump’s incoming presidency. National Review News (Lean Right bias) included that Trump has argued a ban would only benefit Facebook, which he described as an “enemy of the people.”

Trump + Liberal Media Common Ground: Previously, several media pundits have criticized the potential ban. A May 2024 opinion from Responsible Statecraft (Center bias) wrote, “China does not need apps like TikTok to collect that data. U.S. consumer data can be bought on the open market.” A March 2024 opinion from Time Magazine (Lean Left bias) argued a TikTok ban “would be a travesty for the free speech rights of hundreds of millions of Americans.”