Federal judges rules to uphold law that could ban TikTok in the U.S.

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit has ruled unanimously to uphold a law banning TikTok in the United States if the app is not sold by its Chinese parent company by January 19.

The ruling says, "We recognize that this decision has significant implications for TikTok and its users," and if the platform does not divest, the court said it "will effectively be unavailable in the United States, at least for a time."

Friday's decision sets the stage for TikTok to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A source close to the company confirmed that the company will be seeking an injunction pending its appeal.

During his campaign, President-Elect Donald Trump said he would "save TikTok" if elected.

Friday's ruling also spelled out that Trump could grant a 90-day extension if progress has been made toward the divestiture order.

Attorneys for TikTok argued to the judges that the order to sell the platform was unconstitutional, and violates the company's First Amendment rights and that china does not influence TikTok's algorithms.

They also claimed TikTok was being unfairly singled out, since U.S. tech companies collect and sell their users data to other entities.

About half of the U.S. population uses the TikTok platform.

Following the rulling, TikTok released a statement saying:

"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. 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 the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025."