(WASHINGTON) -- A federal appeals court on Friday rejected TikTok's bid to overturn a law banning the platform unless the company finds a new owner. The defeat moves the app closer to a U.S. ban, which is set to take effect on Jan. 19, 2025.
TikTok had challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, arguing that a potential ban would deny American users access to a popular venue for public expression. Attorneys for the company also disputed claims that the app poses a national security risk.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the app, which boasts more than 170 million U.S. users.
The China-based app has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has denied those claims.
In its ruling, the court found merit in security concerns about potential data collection or content manipulation undertaken by the Chinese government, referring to it by its formal name as the People's Republic of China, or PRC.
Each of those two concerns "constitutes an independently compelling national security interest,"
The court cited previous instances in which the Chinese government pursued data, noting their use of relationships with Chinese-owned businesses.
"The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok said in a statement to ABC News on Friday.
"Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people."
"The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence voices over 170 million Americans here in US and around world on January 19th 2025,"
There is little evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with Chinese government or that Chinese government asked app do so cybersecurity experts previously told ABC News.
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