TikTok’s Lifespan Shortens

TikTok’s chances of avoiding a ban are fast diminishing. The DC Appeals Court’s decision today, affirming the law passed earlier this year forcing TikTok to cut its ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance or be banned, was a compelling ruling. It’s hard to imagine that TikTok management would come away from it with any grounds for optimism.

To be sure, the ruling’s direction was expected: The judges’ questions during the September hearing suggested they would rule against TikTok. But the reasoning laid out in the 65-page decision (and a separate concurring opinion by the chief judge) was persuasive, particularly in its dismissal of the First Amendment arguments advanced by TikTok.