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The Supreme Court of the United States he confirmed a law on Friday which could result in a ban TikTok in the United States this Sunday.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, a means of engagement and a source of community,” says the court’s unanimous opinion. “But Congress has determined that the waiver is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
For more than five years, US government officials have tried to ban or force the sale of TikTok, accusing the Chinese company of sharing US user data with the Chinese government and filling feeds with pro-China propaganda . Congress and agencies such as the FBI have not provided the public with much information that confirms these allegations, but they have pursued a variety of different methods to ban TikTok.
Responding to the decision, the CEO of TikTok Shou Zi Chew posted a video on the platform thanking incoming President Donald Trump for supporting the app. “We are grateful and happy to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform,” Chew said. “One who used TikTok to express his thoughts and his perspective connects with the world and generates more than 60 billion views of his content. in the process.”
Chew did not comment on whether TikTok would officially shut down on Sunday, but said: “Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our platform thrives as your online home for unlimited creativity and discovery , and also a source of inspiration and discovery. Joy for years to come.”
In 2020, former President Donald Trump tried it first on TikTok through a failed executive order. Ultimately, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill on April 24, 2024, requiring TikTok’s company, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American owner before January 19 or be removed from US app stores. In a rush to remove the ban, TikTok and a group of creators quickly filed lawsuits against the Department of Justice, arguing that the law, the Act to Protect Americans from Foreign Controlled Applications, violates the their First Amendment rights.
In Friday’s oral arguments, TikTok’s lawyer Noel Francisco and Jeffrey Fisher, who represents the creators, tried to drive home that argument. For the government, attorney general Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the law did not violate the defendants’ free speech rights, and instead separated the app from ByteDance and Chinese influence.
“Undoubtedly, the remedy that Congress and the President have chosen here is dramatic,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion. “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its goals, I do not know. A determined foreign adversary may simply seek to replace a lost surveillance application with another. As time passes and threats evolve, less effective solutions may emerge dramatic and more effective.”
In its opinion, the court questioned TikTok’s central argument that the law violated the company’s free speech rights, writing that “the contested provisions are facially neutral.” The justices wrote that the law does not seem to regulate the speech of TikTok or its creators, and instead targets the app and the corporate structure of ByteDance.
