US Supreme Court affirms law banning TikTok, effective Sunday
TikTok
Abdullateef Fowewe
The United States Supreme Court on Friday, upheld a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell the short-video app by Sunday, as the justices in a 9-0 decision declined to rescue a platform used by about half of all Americans.
This was gathered in a report by the US Reuters, on Friday.
The justices ruled that the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.
The justices affirmed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the measure after it was challenged by TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users.
The court said in the unsigned opinion, “There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.
We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
However, a statement issued by the White House suggested that Biden would not take any action to save TikTok before the law’s Sunday deadline for divestiture.
Republican Donald Trump, who opposed a TikTik ban, succeeds Biden on Monday.
It was gathered that Trump claimed he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues including TikTok in a phone call on Friday.
The case pitted free speech rights against national security concerns in the age of social media.
The court’s unanimity underscored the acceptance by the justices of the national security risks that Biden’s administration warned concerning TikTok, the court said, blunting apprehensions over free speech infringements.
“TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns,” the court said in the opinion.
Meanwhile, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement reiterated Biden’s position that “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”
Given the timing, Jean-Pierre added, action to implement the law “must fall to the next administration.”
Meanwhile, Dailyeconomy learnt that TikTok Chief Executive Officer, Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, seated among other high-profile invitees.
TikTok plans to shut U.S. operations of the app on Sunday barring a last-minute reprieve.
