• A panel of judges ruled that a law forcing the sale or ban of TikTok in the US is constitutional.
• The panel heard arguments about national security and the First Amendment.
• The case is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court. Once in office, Trump may also intervene.

TikTok's future in the US is looking dimmer.

A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Friday that a law designed to force a TikTok sale or ban is constitutional.

Congress passed the law, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, in April. The law makes it illegal for companies like Apple and Google to host apps owned by a foreign adversary that permit users to "create an account or profile to generate, share, and view text, images, videos, real-time communications, or similar content."

It identified TikTok and its owner, ByteDance, as covered companies. ByteDance operates in China, which the US has deemed a foreign adversary.

The law gave ByteDance until January 19 to either divest itself of TikTok's US assets or be booted from app stores.

TikTok challenged the law in May, arguing that it violated its users' First Amendment rights. Its argument failed.

"The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States," the court ruling says. "Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary's ability to gather data on people in the United States."

TikTok said in response to the ruling on Friday that the law amounts to government censorship of the over 170 million Americans who use the app.

"The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok said.

Why did the US government target TikTok?

US officials in both parties have worried that the app poses a national security risk because of its Chinese owner. Some have raised concerns that ByteDance could be required to pass along US user data to the Chinese Communist Party, as mandated by a national intelligence law. Members of Congress have also said they fear that TikTok could be used as a propaganda tool to push narratives favorable to the CCP.

TikTok has said it doesn't share information with the Chinese government and emphasized that its content moderation is managed by a US-based team that "operates independently from China."

TikTok is likely to appeal the decision, and it may end up in front of the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling, TikTok may have a savior in President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump once tried to ban TikTok, but he's since flip-flopped and said he'd try to rescue the app once in office.

Legal experts previously told BI that the incoming president could instruct his Justice Department to not enforce the divest-or-ban law, or make a claim that it simply doesn't apply to TikTok. Both strategies may be tough to defend against a legal challenge, particularly if the Supreme Court rules against TikTok.

Trump could also try to broker a sale of TikTok to a new owner that isn't tied to a foreign adversary.

ByteDance has said it wouldn't sell TikTok's US assets, but it may be more open to the idea if other options are off the table.

Some members of Congress seem to prefer a sale. Rep. John Moolenaar, the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, told BI in November that the Trump administration would "have a unique opportunity to broker an American takeover of the platform, allowing TikTok users to continue to enjoy a safer, better version of the app free from foreign-adversary control."

• Triller hired former TikTok product head Sean Kim to run its video app and a few other subsidiaries.
• Former T-Mobile marketing exec Kevin McGurn will no longer join as CEO of all of Triller Group.
• Triller went public in October via a reverse merger with Hong Kong-based AGBA Group Holding Limited.

Triller, a media and marketing company that once positioned itself as a competitor to TikTok, announced it's hiring former TikTok product head Sean Kim to serve as CEO of its video app.

The move comes as Triller plans the next chapter of its short-video app. It could enter 2025 in a much different competitive landscape if TikTok ends up being banned in the US.

Kim joins Triller after serving as chief product officer and president at the creator-monetization platform Kajabi. Starting on December 2, he will oversee the Triller app, a short-video platform that functions similarly to TikTok, Instagram reels, and YouTube shorts. He will also preside over a few other Triller holdings, including its influencer-marketing platform Julius, its fan engagement tool Fangage, and its AI engagement business Amplify.ai, a company spokesperson told Business Insider.

Kim will not be the CEO of Triller Group, the holding company that owns those four products as well as a text-marketing tool called Cliqz, an audience analytics platform called CrossHype, an events platform called Thuzio, and a combat-sports streamer called TrillerTV, among other businesses.

The Triller Group CEO title was meant to go to former T-Mobile marketing executive Kevin McGurn, as announced by the company in October. But he will no longer be joining Triller, the spokesperson told BI. They declined to comment on why but said an interim CEO would be named in December. McGurn did not respond to a request for comment.

The road ahead for the Triller app

Kim arrives at Triller at an interesting moment for its namesake app.

First, there are a lot more investor eyeballs on Triller Group after it went public in October through a reverse merger with AGBA Group Holding Limited, a Hong Kong-based wealth management and healthcare firm.

The company is still embroiled in legal proceedings tied to music-licensing agreements for its app. It pulled a lot of songs from major labels off the Triller app in late 2022 after Sony Music and Universal Music Group sued the company alleging unpaid licensing fees. Triller wrote in a recent filing that, as of December 2023, it owed $27.3 million in unpaid music license amounts. The company's challenges in accessing major-label music could be a handicap as it seeks to compete with other apps like TikTok or Instagram reels.

Kim also appears to be arriving as part of a strategy shift.

Last year, Triller said it would not try to directly generate revenue from its namesake app, writing in a 2023 SEC filing that "as a part of a reorganization and refocus of Triller's business in 2022, it was determined that the Triller App would not be a revenue generating business model."

But the firm seems to be changing course.

In its Wednesday press release around Kim's appointment, the company said it's preparing for the "next generation of Triller App" in Q1 2025 and enlisting Kim to "lead Triller App into its next chapter of expansion and creativity."

The company spokesperson said the Triller app is now front-and-center among its strategic priorities, and it hopes to achieve bottom-line profitability for the app on its own.

The competitive environment for short-video apps could be shaken up in early 2025 if TikTok ends up being banned in the US.

TikTok could be kicked out of US app stores as early as January 19 due to an April divest-or-ban bill passed by Congress that specifically targeted the company. TikTok is challenging the law in court, but it's not going great for the company. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to keep the app around, but that may be tough to pull off.

If TikTok does leave the US, there may be an opening for Triller to recruit some of its users — a scenario the company attempted to capitalize on back in 2020 when TikTok similarly faced the threat of a federal ban.

This time, Triller has more competition, as top apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube all offer popular short-video features. Triller is currently ranked 147 among photo and video apps in Apple's App Store. For comparison, Instagram and YouTube are ranked 2 and 3, respectively, in that category.