TikTok Ban Upheld by Supreme Court, Not Swayed by First Amendment Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that could provide US ban on TikTok It will take effect as soon as Sunday.
The law was signed by President Joe Biden last year, The app is effectively banned in the United States If TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by January 19 to a buyer that U.S. officials deem suitable. TikTok sued over the law, claiming it violated the company’s First Amendment guarantee of free speech and TikTok’s Section 170 rule. There are 1 million users in the United States.
The judges were not persuaded by this argument. in its The Supreme Court’s ruling stated Although TikTok is “a unique and broad source of expression, engagement, and community,” Congress has decided the sale is needed to “address its concerns over TikTok’s data collection practices and with foreign adversaries.”
“For the reasons stated above, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights,” the court said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the court’s ruling will allow the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from “weaponizing TikTok to undermine U.S. national security.”
“An authoritarian regime should not have unfettered access to the sensitive data of millions of Americans,” Garland said in a Justice Department statement.
TikTok and U.S. government lawyers Defend your case at oral argument In court late last week, the First Amendment perspective was compared to national security concerns. Based on questions and comments from the judges during the more than two hours of hearings, they appeared to agree more with the government that the case is not about free speech but about the dangers posed by foreign adversaries, in this case China ).
Read more: Downloads, Trump and VPNs: Everything to know about a potential TikTok ban
Lawmakers from both parties have long expressed concern that TikTok could pose a threat to national security and could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans or spread disinformation to advance China’s agenda.
TikTok continues to deny the accusations. Before the congressional vote last year, TikTok revives U.S. userscalling on them to urge representatives on Capitol Hill to vote down the ban. But the measure ultimately passed both houses of Congress by wide margins.
It’s unclear what will happen to TikTok in the coming days and long term.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a Justice Department statement that the next phase of the Justice Department’s efforts to sever TikTok’s ties to China will include implementation and enforcement of the law after it takes effect on Sunday, and “will be a a process that lasts a long time.” time. “
Thursday, a Biden administration officials told ABC News said the White House does not plan to enforce the law in the remaining days before Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Monday, January 20.
Trump pushed for a ban during his first term but now says he no longer supports it. In late December, Trump’s lawyers Amicus briefs filed in this case. Instead of taking sides, they asked the court to delay the injunction to give Trump time to come up with a “political solution.”
