By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms hit a record high on Friday after a U.S. appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok by early next year or face a ban.
The decision is a devastating blow to ByteDance, whose social media app is used by 170 million Americans. It affirmed a law, which was passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed by President Joe Biden, that gives the U.S. government sweeping powers to ban other foreign-owned apps that could raise concerns about collection of Americans’ data.
TikTok and ByteDance had argued that the law is unconstitutional and violates Americans’ free speech rights.
Meta Platforms shares rose to an all-time record high of $629.78, and were last up 2.7% at $625.37. Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, compete with TikTok for users and advertising.
Shares of Alphabet, which owns YouTube and the dominant Google search engine and also competes in online ads, were up 1.1% at $174.68. Trump Media & Technology, which operates the Truth Social social media platform and is majority-owned by President-elect Donald Trump, rose 3.4% to $34.89.
The appeals court ruling is likely to be appealed to the full appeals court panel or the U.S. Supreme Court by ByteDance and TikTok.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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