The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against TikTok on Friday in its challenge to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA).

Under the law, the Chinese-owned platform will be banned in the US next month as a “foreign adversary controlled application”.

TikTok’s owner ByteDance has been accused by US politicians of having links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which it denies.

The company has said it will not sell TikTok and will continue to fight in the US courts against any ban.

Donald Trump has also indicated that he may overturn the ban — which he originally proposed — on his return to the White House next month.

In a statement, TikTok said: “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.

“Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people.

“The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.”

TikTok has around 170 million users in the United States.