US Supreme Court confirms that TikTok can be banned

The Supreme Court upheld the law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the popular app or face a ban in the United States on national security grounds.

This decision comes days before the law's deadline (on Sunday, January 19) and has significant implications for the 170 million Americans who use TikTok, Reuters reports.

The justices unanimously agreed that the law did not violate First Amendment protections, siding with national security concerns over free speech.

The law, passed with broad bipartisan support, aims to address fears over TikTok's data collection practices and its ties to China, which is seen as a foreign adversary.

The court noted that while TikTok offers a platform for expression, Congress had determined that the app's relationship with China posed serious security risks, including potential misuse of American data and influence operations.

TikTok and ByteDance challenged the law, arguing that it infringed on free speech. However, the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's ruling, with the justices stating that the law targets national security, not protected speech.

The Biden administration has defended the law, citing concerns about China’s control over the app and its access to sensitive data. Trump, however, has recently been hinting that he wants to keep TikTok alive and kicking.

TikTok representatives have warned that the law would harm its business, including its user base, advertisers, and employees. The app employs 7,000 people in the US and has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the country.

Despite this, the law's provisions prevent TikTok from operating in the US unless ByteDance sells it to an American company, a process that may take months.

What do you think will happen? Let me know in the comments!