Supreme Court hears TikTok case: What to know

The US Supreme Court will consider TikTok’s challenge to the law, which if allowed to take effect could lead to… The American ban on the famous social media platform.

The country’s highest court said Tuesday It will hear oral arguments in the case on January 10, before the ban begins on January 19. The news comes after the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier this month denied TikTok’s request. To abolish the law and the movement To issue an emergency injunction to suspend the law pending consideration by the Supreme Court.

In its Supreme Court filing, TikTok argued that allowing the law — which would ban the app if it is not sold to a party deemed appropriate by US officials by a January deadline — to take effect would violate the rights of TikTok’s millions of users in the United States. United.

TikTok said on Wednesday that it was pleased with the court’s decision to pursue its case.

“We believe the court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so that the more than 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their rights to free expression,” the company said in a statement.

In its rulings earlier this month, the Court of Appeal issued He rejected the same argumentAcknowledging that while the ban would require millions of TikTok users to “find alternative means of communication”, it was justified by the “mixed commercial threat” China poses to US national security.

“The First Amendment exists to protect freedom of expression in the United States,” Supreme Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the ruling. “Here, the government acted only to protect that freedom from a hostile foreign nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to collect data about people in the United States.”

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Lawmakers in both political parties have long expressed concerns that TikTok, which has more than 170 million American users, could pose a national security threat and could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans or spread disinformation to advance China’s agenda.

TikTok continues to deny these accusations. Ahead of the vote in Congress earlier this year. TikTok has mobilized its users in the United StatesHe called on them to urge their representatives on Capitol Hill to vote against it. But the measure eventually passed by wide margins in both chambers of Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden.

It is unclear how quickly the Supreme Court could issue a ruling, but the company could also get help from the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump, who pushed for the ban during his first term, says he no longer supports it.

Unless blocked by a court, the ban could take effect on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration.

So what’s next for lawmakers and TikTok? Here’s what you need to know.

What does the law do?

The law is intended to force ByteDance to sell TikTok to a buyer approved by US officials, as well as to ensure that ByteDance cannot access US user data or control TikTok’s algorithm that determines which videos US users see.

TikTok has been given nine months to comply, then a January 19 deadline, at which point the government can request its app be removed from US app stores. The president can grant a 90-day extension.

Biden, who signed the bill setting those requirements, will remain in office until Inauguration Day on January 20.

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What’s next?

After originally calling for a ban during his first presidency, Trump now says he does not support such a ban and has vowed to “save TikTok,” though he has not specified how he would do so.

During a press conference on Monday, Trump pointed to the role TikTok played during the election, crediting it with helping him get the youth vote.

“TikTok has had an impact, so we’re taking a look at it,” Trump told the press. “I have a little warmth in my heart. I’ll be honest.”

Trump He said In March on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he said that although he still views the app as a national security risk, he no longer believes it should be banned, saying: “There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who are going to get infected.” Go crazy without him.”

Trump added that banning TikTok would only strengthen the power of Facebook, which he described as the “enemy of the people.”

In September, Trump pledged to “Save tik tok“, according to a report by the Associated Press. But during… The interview aired Sunday on Meet the PressTrump did not directly say whether or how he would help TikTok avoid the ban.

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Who opposed the TikTok ban?

Free speech and digital rights groups, as well as some security experts, have long opposed the idea of ​​a ban, saying targeting TikTok does nothing to solve broader problems with social media as a whole. Several of them have already filed briefs with the Supreme Court in support of TikTok.

Instead, they argue, lawmakers would be better off passing comprehensive digital privacy laws that would protect Americans’ personal information by preventing all social media companies from collecting it and selling it to data brokers.

Electronic Frontier Foundation Civil Liberties Director David Greene, who co-authored it Friend brief Taking it to court on Tuesday, he said the ban and its approval by the appeals court should be a “major concern” even to those who don’t like TikTok.

“Shutting down telecom platforms or forcing their reorganization based on concerns of foreign propaganda and anti-nationalist manipulation is a clearly anti-democratic tactic, one that the United States has previously condemned globally,” Green said in a statement to the EFF.