TikTok’s Supreme Court Case: What to Know
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to review TikTok’s challenge to a law that could potentially lead to a nationwide ban on the widely-used social media platform if it takes effect.
In mid-December, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear oral arguments on January 10, just days before the ban is scheduled to begin on January 19. This development follows a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier this month, which denied TikTok’s request to overturn the law and its motion for an emergency injunction to delay enforcement while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.
The contested law mandates that TikTok must be sold to a buyer approved by U.S. officials by the January deadline. TikTok’s Supreme Court filing argues that enforcing the law would violate the rights of its millions of U.S. users.
TikTok expressed optimism about the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case.
“We are confident the court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional, allowing over 170 million Americans on our platform to continue exercising their free speech rights,” the company stated.
Earlier this month, the appeals court rejected a similar argument from TikTok. While acknowledging that the ban would compel TikTok users to find alternative communication platforms, the court justified the decision on grounds of the “hybrid commercial threat” China poses to U.S. national security.
Senior Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the ruling, “The First Amendment protects free speech within the United States. Here, the government acted solely to safeguard that freedom from a foreign adversary while limiting its ability to gather data on U.S. citizens.”
Concerns About National Security
Bipartisan lawmakers have long expressed concerns about TikTok’s potential threat to national security. They argue that the platform, with its extensive American user base, could be exploited by the Chinese government for espionage or to spread disinformation supporting China’s agenda.
TikTok denies these allegations and, earlier this year, encouraged its U.S. users to lobby their representatives against a potential ban. Despite these efforts, the measure passed both chambers of Congress by significant margins and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Supreme Court’s Timeline and Political Implications
It remains unclear how quickly the Supreme Court will rule on the matter. If not blocked by the court, the ban could go into effect on January 19, just one day before Trump’s inauguration.
Key Details About the Law
The law is designed to force ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app to an approved buyer and ensure ByteDance no longer has access to U.S. user data or control over TikTok’s algorithm. TikTok was given a nine-month compliance deadline, culminating on January 19. The government could then require the app’s removal from U.S. app stores, although the president has the authority to extend the deadline by 90 days.
Opposition to the Ban
Free speech advocates, digital rights organizations, and some security experts oppose the ban, arguing it fails to address broader concerns with social media platforms. Instead, they suggest lawmakers focus on comprehensive digital privacy laws that protect all Americans’ personal data, rather than singling out TikTok.
David Greene, Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who co-authored an amicus brief supporting TikTok, emphasized the dangers of such measures. “Shutting down communication platforms or forcing their reorganization due to concerns over foreign propaganda and manipulation is an anti-democratic tactic that the U.S. has historically condemned on the global stage,” Greene said.
