Supreme Court allows TikTok to be banned in the US
The Supreme Court is allowing a ban on TikTok to go into effect in the United States just days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office for a second term. The court issued its decision on Friday after TikTok argued a law banning the popular video streaming app violated users' First Amendment rights.
'We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights,' the country's highest court wrote in its decision, which reaffirming an appeals court ruling. Last year, Congress passed a law banning TikTok unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its stakes by January 19, 2025.
U.S. officials raised concerns that the wildly popular social media app is a national security concern with the collection of Americans' data. But as the clock ticked down on the deadline, no deal materialized.
Last year, TikTok, along with some users and creators sued in an effort to block the ban. But their efforts were rejected by lower courts, leaving them with no choice but to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on January 10 and issued its decision a week later.
In that decision on Friday, the country's highest court noted that the provisions of the law being challenged were content neutral, targeting a foreign adversary's control of a platform rather than targeting particular speech.
Some 170 million Americans use the video app, and some warned that banning the app would disrupt the business and livelihoods of millions. Despite the ban set to go into effect on Sunday, Biden signaled he would not enforce it leaving it to President-elect Trump who takes office Monday.
During his first term, Trump raised concern that TikTok was a threat, but he has since changed his tune and asked the Supreme Court to delay enforcing the ban.
Last month, Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi at his Mar-a-Lago estate and signaled he wanted to stop the ban.
'I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart I'll be honest,' Trump said of the video streaming app. He credits the app for helping him make gains with young people in the election. The CEO of TikTok will be in attendance for Trump's inauguration on Monday.
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