Social media giant TikTok has lost its bid to appeal its US ban after a federal appeals court rejected the company’s argument that the initial ruling was unconstitutional.

In its appeal, TikTok claimed that the ban impinged on US citizen’s right to free speech as enshrined in the constitution, but this was rejected by the court, which said the ruling “was the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by Congress and by successive presidents.”

US representatives want to ban TikTok, which has around 17 million US users, because it is owned by Bytedance, a Chinese company that the US claims is linked to the government of China, a claim Bytedance continually denies.

The US is concerned that TikTok data of US users will be gathered and shared with the Chinese state, which has yet to be substantiated.

The court that rejected TikTok’s appeal said that the ban only dealt with “control by a foreign adversary,” and was a subset of larger efforts “to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC (People’s Republic of China).”

The company can therefore evade a full ban if it is sold by Bytedance to a different firm, likely one with different state ties.

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TikTok says it will continue to fight the ruling, saying it will next take the appeal to the Supreme Court.

The current law banning TikTok dates back to 24 April 2024, when current US President Joe Biden signed it into law. This followed a lawsuit from the company claiming that it infringed upon free speech.

Currently, the ban is set to come in place just a day before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who previously tried to ban TikTok in his first term as President. He now says that he would not allow a ban to come into force against the social media giant.

Social media influencers are already reportedly alerting their users to follow them across different channels, and the ban will likely lead to an influx of users to long-established, already existing social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.