TikTok faced significant challenges during its two-hour appeal against a nationwide ban before federal judges, with discussions centering on foreign ownership and constitutional rights under US law.

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit highlighted that while restrictions on US-based companies would raise First Amendment concerns, this case specifically involves legislation targeting foreign-owned platforms from adversary nations.

Key points from the hearing:

• The US government's attorney, Daniel Tenny, emphasized that TikTok's code is developed in China
• TikTok's legal team countered that only "some of the code" originates from China, with significant content curation decisions made in the US
• The legislation specifically targets companies linked to designated adversary nations, with China being one of them
• Congress passed the law due to concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership and potential access to American users' data

A decision is expected before January 19, the deadline set by the legislation for TikTok to comply. The law, which moved quickly through Congress this spring, reflects growing concerns about national security implications of TikTok's Chinese ownership.

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