January 10, 2025
3 1 minute read
US TikTok ban looms as Supreme Court hears arguments
TikTok around the clock: ByteDance, app’s China-based owner, must sell it by January 19 or face ban
Participants hold signs in support of TikTok outside the US Capitol on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
About 170 million people use TikTok in the United States, but that number could suddenly drop toward zero if the law signed by President Joe Biden goes into effect on January 19. The law imposes restrictions on ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok: It must either sell the app to a non-Chinese company or face a ban. ByteDance has repeatedly said the app is not for sale.
Instead, the company filed a lawsuit to keep TikTok available in the US, and that case has now reached the Supreme Court. In oral arguments on Friday, Noel Francisco, an attorney for TikTok, Inc., argued: ByteDance’s US subsidiary said the new law violated that subsidiary’s First Amendment rights, and likened TikTok’s regulation algorithm to editorial discretion. U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Prelogar, on behalf of the country’s government, responded that China does not have a First Amendment right to manipulate content in the United States, and claimed that “the Chinese government could use TikTok as a weapon at any time to harm the United States.” “
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision within the next nine days.
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Why is the clock ticking for TikTok?
Congress, which passed the TikTok law with bipartisan support, says China’s influence on the platform poses a threat to national security. The Department of Justice also raised concerns, including the potential collection of personal data from millions of American users of the app and the potential “Secret manipulation“From its content. (Although there is evidence that ByteDance shared non-US users’ data with China, the US government has not provided direct evidence that the company or its affiliate interferes with US users.)
What might happen?
Francisco told the Supreme Court on Friday that if TikTok loses its case, “we will still be in the dark, as I understand it.” Americans will no longer be able to download or update TikTok from the Google or Apple app stores. ISPs will also face severe penalties if they allow TikTok to reach US users.
Americans may react in similar ways as previous TikTok users elsewhere. After India banned the app in 2020, users flocked to other forms of short videos, such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts. It is also possible to access blocked content via Virtual Private Networksor VPNs, which can mask traffic to make it appear as if it is coming from a country where TikTok is not blocked.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to delay interpretation of the law until he takes office. An amicus brief filed on his behalf claims his “savvy deal-making expertise” could save the platform while addressing national security concerns. Last September, Trump promised to save the app, posting on his social media network Truth Social, “For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump!” legal Scientists have criticized Trump requested a postponement.
Is TikTok’s potential ban legal? Is it security theater?
Civil liberties and free speech organizations oppose the ban, arguing that it violates Americans’ First Amendment rights. “Restricting citizens’ access to foreign media is a practice that has long been associated with the world’s most repressive regimes, and it would be extremely unfortunate if the Supreme Court allowed this practice to take hold here,” said Jamil Jaafar, executive director of the Knight Foundation. First Amendment Institute, in a press release issued by the institute on Thursday.
Some free speech experts have argued that such bans on TikTok are more about political posturing than protecting users. Such a move does little to prevent data brokers from selling American users’ information, whether to technology companies abroad or middlemen who can in turn sell it to foreign governments. “Blocking access to a single app does not create safety or security for Americans’ data from China or any other country,” he said. Kate Rowanan attorney at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a non-profit civil rights organization, in an interview with American Scientific last year.