TikTok might survive, but might cause rupture in the Senate

The Republican Party is divided over the future of TikTok as a Supreme Court case looms – tomorrow is the Big Day. Free speech rights are at stake – against national security concerns tied to the Chinese-owned app.

Trump, who is set to begin his second term, has urged the Supreme Court to block a US ban on TikTok, a measure signed into law by Biden in 2024 and supported by some Republicans. This could be one of the most consequential First Amendment cases in decades, Reuters reports.

TikTok, as you know by now, is owned by China-based ByteDance. The short video app faces allegations of posing a national security threat by potentially sharing user data with the Chinese government or manipulating content.

The aforementioned law mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban by January 19. One side of the dispute argues this protects Americans from foreign influence, while TikTok counters that the law violates free speech protections. ByteDance warns that if upheld, the law could give Congress unchecked power to suppress speech linked to foreign entities.

Trump’s stance is all over the place, given his administration’s prior efforts to ban TikTok in 2020. His legal team now argues for a diplomatic resolution, emphasizing TikTok's cultural and political influence, particularly among younger Americans.

Many Republican leaders, however, back Biden’s administration. Twenty-two Republican state attorneys general, led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen, filed briefs urging the Court to uphold the ban. Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (no surprises here) likened TikTok’s challenge to a criminal delaying punishment, and bipartisan congressional leaders stressed the app’s potential as an ill-intended tool.

Meanwhile, Apple and Google have been urged to prepare for TikTok’s removal from their app stores, a step that would render the app unusable over time without updates, despite its massive US user base – 170 million Americans use TikTok monthly.