ByteDance says the law forcing its sale is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment guarantee of free speech

TikTok is one step closer to being banned in the United States.

On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a new law that could force TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a US entity by 19th January 2025 or face a nationwide ban.

The law was signed by President Biden in April.

While debating the law, US lawmakers expressed concerns about ByteDance's ties with the Chinese government and its potential influence over American users. Officials have argued that ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government or manipulate the platform's algorithm to spread propaganda.

In May, ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the US government, arguing that the law forcing its sale is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.

The company said the ban effectively silences millions of American users and disrupts the livelihoods of content creators who rely on the platform. It further contended that a sale to a US buyer is not feasible due to Chinese government restrictions.

However, the court rejected these arguments, stating that the law is necessary to protect national security and does not infringe on free speech rights. The court cited bipartisan consensus on the risks associated with foreign adversarial control over technology platforms.

"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," the judges wrote.

TikTok plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

"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," a spokesperson for TikTok, said, describing the ban as "outright censorship of the American people."

While the company plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, the short-term outlook remains uncertain.

If the Supreme Court declines to hear the case or upholds the lower court's ruling, TikTok could face a significant challenge in continuing to operate in the US market.

Adding a twist to the saga is the upcoming White House administration under Donald Trump, who previously attempted to ban TikTok during his first term in 2020.

In the run-up to the November election, Trump vowed not to enforce the ban, potentially providing TikTok a lifeline.

Yet experts remain sceptical about his ability to counteract the growing anti-China sentiment in Congress.

Professor James Grimmelmann of Cornell University said the president-elect Donald Trump would be "swimming upstream to give TikTok a reprieve.

"The anti-China sentiment in the US Congress is very strong, so there are now substantial constituencies in both parties that want TikTok to be restricted from the US market," he told BBC News.

The latest court ruling has sparked concerns among free speech advocates, content creators and TikTok users who rely on TikTok for entertainment, information, and income.

Tiffany Cianci, a small business advocate and TikTok creator, expressed disappointment in the court's decision.

"I'm not going to do what they want and take my content to their platforms where it's not as successful where it's more likely to be censored, where I am more likely to have less control over my audience," she said .

"This is nuts," one user said in a video posted to TikTok.

"I don't want [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg to own TikTok, that won't make me feel better."

Another user said: "I still have my hopes that TikTok will not get banned in the United States but, currently, it doesn't look good."