While TikTok waits to see if it can delay an upcoming ban in the US, speculation is swirling about what options ByteDance, the app's parent company, might have to survive in one of its largest markets.
A US federal appeals court last week a law passed by Congress that gives China-based ByteDance until January 19 to divest TikTok's assets, or be banned in the US.
The law, which received bipartisan support, is rooted in national security concerns over the fear of user data being compromised by China, although those claims have been consistently disputed by ByteDance. “A modest delay in enforcing the Act will simply create breathing room for the Supreme Court to conduct an orderly review and for the incoming administration to evaluate this matter – before one of this country’s most important speech platforms is shuttered,” read TikTok's injunction request.
“In its public submissions, the government sought to defend the Act based on purported concerns about China manipulating the content Americans see on TikTok or misappropriating their private data … The government repeatedly admitted, however, that it has no evidence that China has ever engaged in such behaviour.”
In response to TikTok's request for an injunction, the US Justice Department on Thursday filed an argument for the circuit court to turn down the request.
"Continued Chinese control of the TikTok application poses a continuing threat to national security, and both Congress and this Court took account of the competing interests of users of the application," the argument read in part.
Mark MacCarthy, a senior fellow at the Institute for Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown Law in Washington, said he believes TikTok's request for a conditional stay will probably be granted, potentially extending the January 19 deadline set by bipartisan legislation.
“I think the Supreme Court will take up the case,” Prof MacCarthy said, noting that the court battle could set a precedent. “It is a compelling conflict between First Amendment jurisprudence and the national security state and the court will want to issue a definitive judgment.”
Ultimately, he believes the Supreme Court will uphold the circuit court's decision. “It will probably give full discretion to the government with a rational national security demand conflicting with the First Amendment,” he explained, before pivoting to his own personal stance on the law that puts TikTok's US future in jeopardy.
“A TikTok ban would be terrible on policy grounds but it should withstand constitutional challenge,” he said, saying that he thinks the law is too rooted in a confrontational US policy towards China which could quickly escalate. Some have also speculated the success of TikTok in the US has caused jealousy due in part to the fact that it wasn't created by a US company, which in turn has fuelled efforts to get the platform banned.
Will Trump save TikTok?
Though he expressed concern about TikTok's China ownership during his first term in the White House, during his 2024 presidential run, Donald Trump changed his mind. He joined the platform and quickly gained 14.7 million followers, consistently using the video-sharing social app to communicate with supporters and provoke detractors. Mr Trump also used his own app, Truth Social, to announce that he wanted to prevent TikTok from being banned in the US.
“For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote Trump,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform on September 4. In a video that lasted less than one minute, he said he was “now a big star on TikTok” and added that “we're setting records”, referring to his 14.5 million followers on the platform.
Even as President, however, Mr Trump's path to saving TikTok is narrow. He could try to convince Congress to repeal the law, but it could be risky for him to spend political capital on legislation that received Democratic and Republican support.
What would a ban look like?
Barring any decision from the Supreme Court that would deem the TikTok legislation unconstitutional, or any move from president-elect Trump that would have Congress repeal the law, when January 19 arrives TikTok will probably be removed from iPhone and Android app stores. It will continue to work for most, at least until app updates make it unusable in the US.
It is highly unlikely, although not impossible, that the platform will be blocked overnight. ByteDance has repeatedly said it has no plans to follow the legislation that requires it to sell TikTok's assets to a US entity, but there is a scenario in which it could sell other parts of the app such as the user accounts, while retaining the coveted TikTok algorithm.
Under that sort of arrangement, however, the algorithm which helps fuel TikTok's popularity would remain under ByteDance's control, rendering other assets less valuable. Some US investors and entrepreneurs have pitched the idea of buying TikTok, but nothing has come to fruition, and again, ByteDance says it has no plans to sell.
Palestine Information Office v Shultz
During the initial hearing, in which TikTok's lawyers fought for the platform's survival, circuit court judges brought up a case known as Palestine Information Office v Shultz, which they said provided precedent to force the sale of TikTok. The case of PIO v Shultz stretches back to 1987, when then US secretary of state George Shultz, and ultimately the US State Department, ordered the closure of the Palestine Information Office in Washington DC.
That decision stemmed from a US law passed in 1982 known as the Foreign Missions Act, which led to tighter regulation with regard to foreign missions inside the US. Since the US classified the Palestine Liberation Organisation as a terrorist group, it applied the Foreign Missions Act to the Palestine Information Office as well. The law was challenged, but upheld.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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