Supreme Court on Friday he confirmed the law established to prohibit it Social media platform TikTok in less than 48 hours.
“There is no doubt that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a distinctive and pervasive source of expression, engagement, and community,” the ruling said. “But Congress has determined that the divestment is necessary to address national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
It continues, “For the foregoing Per Curiam reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.”
The court’s ruling was unanimous, with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch writing concurring opinions.
In an apparent effort to limit the effects of its ruling, the court said its ruling should not be interpreted as covering common practices adopted by social media companies, such as data collection.
“We emphasize the inherent narrowness of our farm,” says the unsigned ruling. “Data collection and analysis is common practice in this digital age. But TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to control by foreign adversaries, along with the vast amount of sensitive data the platform collects, justifies different treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, SC, and Tiffany Cianci, a self-proclaimed “creator of long-form educational content” on TikTok, broadcast live outside the Supreme Court, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP, FILE
Unless TikTok cuts ties with China-based parent company ByteDance, the ban will take effect on Sunday, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The Biden administration said Friday would not enforce the potential ban immediately after the deadline, leaving it up to Trump to implement the law.
“TikTok should be available to Americans, but under American ownership or other ownership that addresses national security concerns identified by Congress when developing this law,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after the ruling.
“Given the timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law must be left to the next Administration, which will take office on Monday,” added Jean-Pierre.
Trump, who opposed the ban, has said he will try to reverse it. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration after receiving an invitation from the incoming administration.
Trump he said he spoke One of the topics discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday morning was TikTok, according to a Truth Social post.
TikTok — which has more than 170 million US users — challenged the sell-or-ban law on First Amendment grounds, arguing that a potential ban would limit users’ free speech rights.
TikTok’s logo is seen outside the company’s headquarters in Culver City, California, US, on September 15, 2020.
Mike Blake/Reuters, FILE
Lower courts, however, found merit in security concerns about data collection or content manipulation by the Chinese government.
Even after the ban goes into effect, TikTok could still be available to US users.
Instead of forcing the TikTok app to go dark, the law targets third-party companies such as cloud service providers and app stores. TikTok could avoid these restrictions, at least for the time being, although experts say the app’s quality would degrade over time.
