The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that could see TikTok being banned within the country in the next few days over national security concerns. The court had this week heard an appeal from TikTok owner ByteDance against the law but has chosen to reject it, and now all eyes will turn to the incoming US administration of Donald Trump: Who is to be inaugurated on January 20, and has previously said he “opposes banning” the app.
“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,” the Supreme Court’s (unanimous) judgement reads (thanks, BBC).
“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. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
The national security concerns were what the whole argument hinged on, with the court concluding that “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.”
ByteDance had argued that the law would violate free speech protections but, with that argument having been rejected, it must now either sell the American version of the app to an approved buyer, or alternatively be banned, if the law is ultimately enforced. The company’s lawyers told the Supreme Court this week that the app would “go dark” in this scenario and, without a last-minute buyer or political intervention, it remains unclear whether ByteDance would just pull the app and cease all functionality in the US.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is absolutely loving this. The Supreme Court’s decision will allow it to “prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security,” says Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to millions of Americans’ sensitive data.”
President-elect Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in his first term, but has now changed his tune. Racing to the Supreme Court judgement on CNN, Trump said “it ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do.” Trump added on social media: “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
Some TikTok users in the US have responded to the imminent ban by, erm, joining another Chinese-run social media app, Rednote, where users are enjoying joking about all the “Chinese spies” there are. But TikTok’s 170 million US users are a highly engaged and desirable audience, and among those rumoured to be interested in an acquisition are none other than former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Less seriously, MrBeast says he’ll buy it.
We’ll know soon enough which way Trump is going to play this, and who knows with that guy: But I suspect this saga is far from over.