Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a new law that… Ban on social media platform TikTok, The widely popular app is headed for closure in the US by Sunday.
“We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights,” the court said. unanimous unsigned opinionWhich maintains the lower court's decision against TikTok. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote separately, with Gorsuch agreeing with the outcome of the case but not the Court's reasoning.
The court's opinion comes days before the law, which was passed with a bipartisan majority in Congress last April set to take effectTikTok and a group of content creators who use the app argued that the law violates their free speech rights, and the Supreme Court heard arguments in their bid to block it a week ago.
“The challenged provisions advance an important government interest that is unrelated to the suppression of free expression and do not impose a greater burden on speech than is necessary to further that interest,” the court said, adding that the law's requirements That TikTok will either sell it or face a ban. So that China can be prevented from gaining access to the personal data of American users of the app.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a distinctive and wide-ranging outlet for expression, a means of engagement, and a source of community. But Congress has determined that its well-supported national “The divestiture is necessary to address security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign competitor,” the court opinion said.
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Called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemies Controlled Applications Act, the legislation requires TikTok to either separate from its parent company ByteDance, or be cut off from US app stores and hosting services starting on January 19. . President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in for a second term on January 20 requested the court Implementation of the law be put on hold to allow him to pursue a “political resolution” after taking office.
Congress and the Biden administration have said TikTok has raised national security concerns for years. Federal employees cannot have the app on their government-issued phones, and most states have banned the platform on state government devices.
With the Supreme Court refusing to declare TikTok a lifeline, the immediate impact on access to the app is unclear by Sunday's deadline. reuters informed On Wednesday the company announced plans to shut it down for US users once the ban takes effect. According to the report, those trying to open the app will be greeted with a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the new law.
Many users have started Downloading their videos and data from TikTok In anticipation of the ban and is being transferred to other platforms including Chinese-owned Rednote,
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration would not begin enforcing the law starting Sunday, leaving it to the incoming Trump administration.
“President Biden's position on TikTok has been clear for many months, including Congress sending a bill to the President's desk in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion: TikTok must remain available to Americans, but only through U.S. ownership or other ownership. “that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this legislation,” she said.
Trump may decline to enforce the ban, but companies like Apple and Google could still face potentially hefty fines if they host apps that violate the law. During debate last week, the government said there is a five-year statute of limitations for violations of the law, meaning a future administration could punish offenders.
TikTok and Supreme Court
Federal officials have said the law is aimed at preventing China from collecting substantial amounts of data from the platform's 170 million US users and covertly manipulating content on TikTok to harm the US by creating discord and division .
But TikTok, which curates short videos for users through a powerful recommendation algorithm, said it is a US company protected by the First Amendment from Congress's effort to ban the platform.
During arguments, the justices appeared ready to uphold the law, although many expressed concern that it could conflict with the First Amendment. Still, many members of the court seemed to agree that the law targeted TikTok's ownership by a foreign company, ByteDance, rather than the speech shared on the platform.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Preloger, arguing for the US government, said the “unprecedented amount” of personal data collected by TikTok would give the Chinese government “a powerful tool for harassment, recruitment and espionage”. He cited several data breaches the US has blamed on China over the past decade, including the hack of the Office of Personnel Management, which compromised the personal information of millions of federal employees.
“For years, the Chinese government has been trying to build detailed profiles about Americans, including where we live and work, who our friends and colleagues are, what our interests are and what our vices are,” Pregoler said.
Noel Francisco, who argued on behalf of TikTok and ByteDance, said the Supreme Court's decision would be “highly consequential.” If the companies are forced to sever ties, he said, TikTok would be “fundamentally a different platform” because the new owner would have to rebuild the algorithm, which would take years. Other social media platforms have tried to replicate the algorithm, but have been unable to match TikTok, according to Jeffrey Fisher, who represents the creators. China has said it opposes the sale of TikTok's algorithm.
If the law is not stopped or overturned by January 19, “we will go into darkness,” Francisco said. “The platform has been shut down,” he said, later clarifying that TikTok would no longer be available in the US app stores. If TikTok doesn't shut down voluntarily, experts told cbs news The experience of users who already have it on their phones is likely to deteriorate over time as they will no longer receive software updates.
Several justices from the liberal and conservative sides of the bench repeatedly raised concerns about TikTok's collection of data from its US users and the Chinese government's access to that personal information.
“Should we ignore the fact that the ultimate parents are, in fact, subject to intelligence work for the Chinese government?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked Francisco, referring to ByteDance.
Roberts said Congress found that ByteDance is subject to Chinese laws that require it to cooperate with the Chinese government's intelligence operations and ensure it has the power to access personal data held by the company.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, too, warned about the future implications of the Chinese government's access to the data of millions of Americans who use TikTok each month.
Congress and the president were concerned, he said, that China “will use that information over time to develop spies, to blackmail people, to blackmail people who, a generation from now, will be working at the FBI or the CIA or the State Department “Is this not a realistic assessment of the risks here by Congress and the President?”
Francisco claimed she would have to “remain silent” until TikTok severed its ties to ByteDance, but Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pushed back against that characterization of the law.
“If TikTok, after the disinvestment or whatever, before the disinvestment, had come up with its own algorithm, then when the disinvestment happened, it could have still worked. It doesn't say, 'TikTok, you can't speak,' he said. Said, TikTok can remain in the US as long as it is not associated with ByteDance.
In its opinion, the high court focused primarily on data collection concerns raised by Congress and the Justice Department, finding that the law violates the U.S. government's interest in preventing a foreign competitor, China, from collecting “vast amounts” of data. Adequately prepared to address. Sensitive information of TikTok's 170 million US users.
“There was good reason to single out TikTok for special treatment,” Congress said.
The court avoided endorsing the government's interest in preventing China's alleged covert manipulation of the material, which the Biden administration had cited as a national security justification for the law.
“One person's 'secret content manipulation' is another's 'editorial discretion,'” Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion in the decision. “Journalists, publishers and speakers of all kinds routinely make less-than-transparent decisions about what stories to tell and how to tell them. Without question, the First Amendment says a lot about the right to make those choices “
For Americans who rely on TikTok to exchange views on all kinds of topics, from politics to entertainment to news, the stakes of this case are very high. Creators challenging the law said they use it to sell products, reach thousands of people, and build a nationwide community.
Fischer said, “He is our editor and publisher of choice who best disseminates our speech.”
trump attempted to effectively ban TikTok during his first term in office due to national security concerns, although his executive order targeting the app was blocked by a federal court and then rescinded by Mr Biden. But the president-elect has reversed his views on the platform.
Trump told Newsmax in an interview this week that he is “not opposed” to TikTok and said his campaign's use of the app helped him win over young voters in the November presidential election.
He said, “My experience with TikTok was very good.”
TikTok CEO Shaw Chew met trump in December at Mar-a-Lago, their South Florida resort, and is expected to attend Inauguration of the newly elected President on Monday.
Trump wrote, Trump also spoke on phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. true socialHe said TikTok was one of the issues they discussed.
Pam Bondi, the president-elect's choice for attorney general, declined to comment. during his confirmation hearing Citing the pending lawsuit, she was asked Wednesday whether she would enforce the law if confirmed to lead the Justice Department.
Contributed to this report.