WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Supreme Court on Friday appeared likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States by Jan. 19 unless it’s sold by Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Critics have warned that this decision could go beyond losing favorite social media influencers, potentially shaping the future of free speech.
Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified the “main concern” in the case is that ByteDance has to cooperate with the Chinese government’s intelligence operations.
If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to “go dark” on Jan. 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of TikTok.
At the very least, Francisco urged, the justices should enter a temporary pause that would allow TikTok to keep operating. “We might be in a different world again” after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, also has called for the deadline to be pushed back to give him time to negotiate a “political resolution.”
However, it was unclear whether any justices would choose such a course. Only Justice Neil Gorsuch sounded like he would side with TikTok to find the ban violates the Constitution.
What’s at stake?
TikTok, with more than 170 million U.S. users, is at the center of a legal battle over First Amendment rights and national security.
Lawyers for ByteDance argue that Congress overstepped by passing a law requiring the company to sell the app to an approved buyer or shut down in the U.S. They claim the law violates users’ First Amendment rights since TikTok is a platform that allows users to share videos, views, and opinions.
Congress, however, asserts that this is not about free speech but national security, claiming that China could force ByteDance to disclose the personal data of millions of Americans.
In a court filing, the U.S. Department of Justice highlights China’s “well-documented history” of forcing companies, including TikTok, to comply with its government’s “directives and refrain from disclosing those actions.”
In response, ByteDance’s legal team claimed the law would allow Congress to ban them from operating TikTok “explicitly because they refused to censor views Congress” doesn’t like.
If SCOTUS upholds the ban, TikTok won’t immediately vanish from devices but will be removed from app stores. Users won’t receive updates and will gradually lose access as ByteDance winds down its support for the app.