In a pivotal hearing on Monday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals expressed skepticism regarding the constitutionality of the TikTok “sale or ban” law, signed by President Joe Biden in April. The law, which could lead to a ban on TikTok or a forced sale to a U.S. entity by January 2025, is currently on hold as TikTok challenges it in court.

During the two-hour session, TikTok’s legal team argued that the platform’s business model is protected by the First Amendment and contested the government’s claims of national security risks associated with its Chinese ownership. TikTok’s lawyer, Andrew Pincus, asserted that the platform’s recommendation engine operates independently within the U.S., based on American data and content moderation decisions. He dismissed concerns about Chinese influence over TikTok’s algorithms, describing the government’s position as flawed.

The government, however, maintains that TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, poses a significant national security threat by potentially exposing the data of its 170 million U.S. users to the Chinese Communist Party. Officials highlighted that TikTok’s source code was developed in China and argued that the platform could still be influenced by Chinese entities. Judge Neomi Rao referred to a 1988 case to underscore the potential justification for government action based on the platform’s foreign ownership, although the government did not cite this case in its arguments.

TikTok’s efforts to mitigate these concerns include Project Texas, an initiative involving Oracle to isolate U.S. user data within a secure environment. Despite this, recent reports have raised issues about TikTok’s data practices, including a controversy involving ByteDance employees monitoring journalists. TikTok has condemned these actions and taken corrective measures.

The potential ban has sparked considerable backlash from U.S. TikTok creators and users, who argue that it would stifle their speech and business activities. TikTok’s lawyers emphasized that creators would face challenges replicating their followings on other platforms. Meanwhile, the government insists that the ban is targeted at mitigating perceived Chinese influence, not at limiting creators’ expression.

As the legal battle continues, TikTok and ByteDance are grappling with the implications of the potential ban. The outcome could reshape the landscape of U.S. social media, affecting millions of users and content creators who rely on the platform for personal and professional purposes.