On December 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld legislation that could force ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face a U.S. ban.

“We recognize that this decision has significant implications for TikTok and its users,” the court stated in its majority opinion. The ruling indicates that if ByteDance fails to divest, TikTok “will effectively be unavailable in the United States, at least for a time.”

The legislation prohibits app stores operated by Apple and Alphabet’s Google from offering TikTok and bars internet hosting services from supporting the platform unless ByteDance complies with the divestiture order. The law allows for a 90-day extension based on progress toward the sale.

TikTok, which serves approximately 170 million U.S. users, responded that it plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The company argues the ban was “conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information” and would “silence the voices of over 170 million Americans.”

Reuters reports that the ruling has already impacted financial markets, with shares of Meta Platforms reaching an intraday record high and closing up 2.4%. Following the announcement, Alphabet stock closed up 1.25%.

Several potential buyers emerged in 2024, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, who formed separate consortiums to bid for TikTok’s U.S. operations. McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative reports informal commitments exceeding $20 billion in capital from unnamed participants.

The three-judge panel, comprising appointees from both Republican and Democratic administrations, addressed these concerns in their opinion, stating: “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here, the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”

According to NBC News, civil liberties organizations have expressed concerns about the ruling’s implications. The American Civil Liberties Union considered the decision “a major blow to freedom of expression online.” At the same time, the Center for Democracy and Technology warned of “immeasurable harm” to free expression.

The upcoming presidential transition may influence the case’s resolution. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, has stated that he would prevent the TikTok ban. However, NBC notes that opinions among his announced Cabinet members remain divided on the platform’s future.