The US Supreme Court has upheld the sell-or-ban law that will effectively ban TikTok in the country. This means that TikTok will eventually be disabled in the country on Sunday, January 19, signalling an end to the ByteDance subsidiary platform. As stated by the government, the ban is due to national security reasons.
TikTok has been battling for months with a bill signed into law by President Biden in April 2024. The move mandates ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations to another owner by January 19 or face a ban that will halt its download on download App stores.
The bill followed years of allegations from the U.S. government that TikTok’s ties to China pose a national security risk and that it exposes Americans’ sensitive information to the Chinese government.
Today’s ruling by the Court now makes it illegal for app stores and internet hosting services to distribute the social network across the U.S. as of Sunday.
Though there has been a series of appeals from two TikTok operating entities and a group of U.S. TikTok users who requested that the ban (a result of the new Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act) be dismissed on First Amendment (free speech) grounds.
In a court session held last Friday, the legislation said it does not forbid app usage but would require tech giants such as Apple and Google to stop offering it and inhibit updates, which analysts suggest would run down over time.
“Given just a handful of days after oral argument to issue an opinion, I cannot profess the kind of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and record before us. All I can say is that, at this time and under these constraints, the problem appears real and the response to it is not unconstitutional… Speaking with and in favour of a foreign adversary is one thing. Allowing a foreign adversary to spy on Americans is another,” the court writes in the latest verdict passed contained in an unsigned opinion.
Court insights
At today’s hearing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stood on the ground that the “sell or ban” law does not violate the First Amendment because it doesn’t aim to regulate free speech on the platform or its algorithm. The DOJ argued that the Chinese government could use ByteDance to secretly turn over the data of millions of Americans.
This follows earlier concerns by the US Supreme Court that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance, which is subject to Chinese law. This is especially because that law allows China’s government to access and control private data the company holds.
“Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked TikTok lawyer Mr Francisco during last Friday’s session.
