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US Supreme Court to decide on TikTok ban, platform likely to shut down in US by Jan. 19 if law upheld
TikTok has made its arguments against a law mandating that it be sold.
The United States (U.S.) Supreme Court signalled on Jan. 10, 2024, that it is likely to uphold a ban on the short-form video application TikTok in the country, Reuters reported.
The judges heard arguments from the parties on Jan. 10 and posed them questions which appeared to be focused on national security concerns, as well as links between the application and the Chinese state.
Nine lawyers representing TikTok, its Chinese parent company ByteDance, and users, presented their case before the court justices.
The companies have opposed the law, which mandates the sale of the social media platform by Jan. 19, 2025, at risk of it being banned in the country.
According to AP News, TikTok has said that the law should be struck down as it violates the First Amendment's free speech protection.
However, a lower court had rejected the argument made by TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance, Reuters reported.
Given that ByteDance previously stated on Apr. 26 that it has "no plans" to sell TikTok, it is likely that the application will be shut down in the U.S. by Jan. 19, barring any administrative stays or delays from the Supreme Court.
Competing national security & free speech concerns
For two and a half hours on Jan. 10, the court weighed the law's possible impact on free speech in the U.S. against national security concerns about the Chinese state possibly using the application to carry out covert intelligence operations.
"Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?", Chief Justice John Roberts asked one of TikTok and Bytedance's lawyers on Jan. 10, Reuters reported.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted the danger of the Chinese state using information gathered by TikTok on young Americans to “develop spies, turn people, blackmail people” when they grow older and work in national security agencies or the military, The New York Times reported.
On the other hand, concerns were raised about whether Congress had the right to completely shut down the application, and whether such a ban was necessary.
Both Justices Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch, for instance, queried if appending a label warning could suffice to signal to users the possibility of "covert" state influence.
Will shut down by Jan. 19 unless court strikes down or delays ban: TikTok
The bill mandating TikTok's sale was passed on Apr. 24, 2024 by Congress with bipartisan support, and former President Joe Biden signing it into law.
The bill was introduced as U.S. lawmakers said the app poses "national security implications" due to being owned by a foreign body which collects data from American users.
Its Singaporean chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi previously said that the company would "fight" the ban in court.
Other key parties involved in the case include free-speech advocacy groups who oppose the ban while Republican former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and 22 states have supported it.
Trump requests delay on ban
President-elect Donald Trump, who will start his second presidential term on Jan. 20, had also opposed the ban.
He also requested for a delay on Dec. 27 in order to "resolve the issues through political means once he takes office".
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito said the court could issue an administrative stay to temporarily freeze the law.
Solicitor-General Elizabeth Prelogar said that the court certainly has the power to issue such a stay if it needed more time to discuss the case, but noted that the case had been fully briefed and now argued, CNN reported.
Top photos via Google Maps & @helloimnik/Unsplash
