U.S. ban of ByteDance's TikTok upheld by appeals court.

• The US federal appeals court upheld the law mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a de facto ban in the US.
• The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. upheld the ban on TikTok, stating that it does not violate the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans who use the app.
• The ban of TikTok by Congress members from both parties is due to national security concerns over its ties to the Chinese government.

On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok in the US, citing national security concerns.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upheld the constitutionality of the law and ruled against TikTok's claim that it violates the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans who use the app.

In April, President Biden signed the law following bipartisan concerns raised by Congress members about TikTok's suspected ties to the Communist Chinese government.

If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by Jan. 19, the law mandates that app stores, including Google and Apple, and internet hosting providers must cease supporting the app, resulting in a de facto ban.

When he assumes the presidency in the upcoming month, it is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will implement the ban.

The majority opinion of the appeal court concluded that the U.S. government presented convincing evidence proving that the divestment law is specifically designed to safeguard national security.

The People's Republic of China has never been directly denied by TikTok as having manipulated its content.

In his opinion, Judge Douglas Ginsburg rejected each of the petitioners' constitutional claims on the grounds of merit.

The court ruled that the provisions of the Act that are in question do not conflict with the First Amendment or the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause, and do not constitute an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of private property without compensation, as claimed.

The law was the result of "bipartisan action by Congress and the presidency."

The judge wrote that the document was meticulously constructed to address only the control of a foreign enemy, and it was part of a larger initiative to counter a verified national security threat from China.

In March, Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, stated that TikTok is a tool for spying and data collection used by the Chinese Communist Party to target Americans.

The American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project's deputy director, Patrick Toomey, criticized Friday's ruling, stating that it establishes a problematic and hazardous precedent, allowing the government to excessively control citizens' online expression.

"The First Amendment rights of millions of Americans are being violated by banning TikTok, as this app is used to express and communicate with people globally, Toomey stated. The government must provide evidence of extremely serious and imminent harm before shutting down a communications platform."

The D.C. federal circuit judges may reconsider TikTok and ByteDance's appeal, but such requests are frequently denied.

The U.S. Supreme Court can be asked to hear the case by the company, but there is no guaranteed right of appeal to that court.

NBC News learned from a reliable source that the company intends to file a petition with the Supreme Court and is seeking a temporary restraining order until the case is heard.

In a September post on his own social media app, Truth Social, Trump stated that he was not involved with TikTok, but the other side was planning to shut it down.

"If you are a fan of TikTok, support Trump by voting for him," the president-elect stated at the time.

In November, Karoline Leavitt, Trump's transition spokeswoman, stated on CNBC that the president-elect would fulfill his campaign promises.