Appeals court denies TikTok’s plea to reconsider U.S. ban

As the new year inches closer, so does a likely ban on TikTok in the U.S., which awaits a decision by the Supreme Court to determine its fate.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the ByteDance-owned app’s request to freeze a law that requires the company to sell the app or face a ban in the U.S. by Jan. 19. With 170 million Americans using the app, housing professionals would be impacted by the loss of a key marketing and outreach tool for younger would-be borrowers.

The court said in a filing late on Friday that an injunction was “unwarranted.”

Just over a week ago, judges in the same court unanimously denied petitions from the company and its users to overturn the law. TikTok then asked the court on Dec. 9 to temporarily block the law until the Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump could weigh in, and the company sought a decision by Dec. 16.

In April, President Joe Biden signed a law requiring TikTok to publicly break ties with ByteDance following widespread, bipartisan concerns about national security issues involving the popular app. The government’s evidence for why it is necessary to ban TikTok was redacted from court filings, but outside concerns include spying on journalists or involvement with the Chinese government. TikTok has denied these allegations.

Some lawmakers have already told Apple and Google to prepare for the app’s removal, Reuters reported.

Mortgage professionals have previously offered their opinions on the ban and its potential impact on business to HousingWire, calling it “unfortunate.”

Professionals with heavy business ties to the app expressed concerns. Jordan Nutter, vice president of the influencer division at NFM Lending, said that her share of business tied to social media is between 40% and 50%.

“Most of my clients tend to be millennials that come from social media,” Nutter said in a previous conversation with HousingWire. “So, if this does go fully into effect, it 100% will affect my business, unfortunately. I have all of the other platforms, for the most part, and I repurpose content over there, but when it comes to which content the followers resonate with, it’s truly TikTok where it thrives.”