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18-01-2025
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that bans TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sells the platform by this Sunday.
TikTok had challenged the law, arguing it would violate free speech protections for the more than 170 million users it says it has in the US but that argument was rejected unanimously by the nation’s highest court, meaning TikTok must now find an approved buyer for the US version of the app or face removal from app stores and web hosting services.
The White House said it would fall to incoming President Donald Trump’s administration, which takes office on Monday, to enforce the law. Trump vowed to make a decision in the “not too distant future”.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with other high-profile guests, said he wanted to thank the incoming president for his commitment to work with the app and keep it available in the US.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to ban the video-sharing app last year, over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly stated it does not share information with Beijing.
Passed in April last year, the law allows TikTok owner ByteDance until 19 January 2025 to sell the US version of the platform to a neutral party to avert an outright ban.
It would mean that from Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer offer the app to new users or provide any security updates to current users – which could kill it off eventually.
ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and said it planned to shut US operations of the app on Sunday unless there is a reprieve.
The Supreme Court ruled without any dissenting opinion that the law did not violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection of free speech.
The justices affirmed a lower court’s decision that upheld the statute after it was challenged by ByteDance.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the Supreme Court said but “Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
‘Stay tuned!’
Following the Supreme Court ruling, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden’s position on TikTok had been clear for months: “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law” but due to the “sheer fact of timing”, she added, the president recognized “actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday”.
On Friday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: “The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
He also revealed he had spoken to China’s President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
In December Trump said he had a “warm spot” for the app as it helped him with young voters in the 2024 election.
Trump’s comments mark a U-turn on his stance in his first term as president when he aimed to enact a similar ban through an executive order. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
