US Supreme Court upheld a law The result may be out on Friday ban on tiktok This Sunday in the United States.
The court's unanimous opinion states, “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 divestment is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company is reportedly planning to close the app The extension deadline for US users on Sunday.
For more than five years, US government officials have tried to ban or force the sale of TikTok, accusing the Chinese-owned company of sharing US user data with the Chinese government and filling its feed with pro-China propaganda. Is of. Agencies like Congress and the FBI have not provided much information corroborating these allegations to the public, but have taken several different approaches to ban TikTok.
Former President Donald Trump was the first to try in 2020 ban tiktok Through a failed executive order. Ultimately, President Joe Biden signed a bill on April 24, 2024, requiring TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, to sell the app to a US owner by January 19 or be removed from US app stores. Rushing to avert the ban, TikTok and a group of creators immediately filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, arguing that the law, the Act Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversely Controlled Applications, violates their First Amendment rights.
At Friday's oral arguments, TikTok lawyers Noel Francisco and Jeffrey Fisher, who represent the creators, attempted to advance that argument. For the government, Solicitor General Elizabeth Preloger argued that the law did not violate the defendants' free speech rights, and instead isolated the app from ByteDance and Chinese influence.
Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred, writing, “Without a doubt, the remedy Congress and the President chose here is dramatic.” “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its goal or not, I do not know. A determined foreign adversary may try to replace a lost surveillance application with another. As time passes and threats increase, less dramatic and more effective solutions may emerge.
The legislation allows Biden to extend the January 19 deadline by an additional 90 days, as long as the ByteDance sale is close. By Wednesday, the Biden administration reportedly looking for ways To save the app, but haven't disclosed anything publicly. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED on Friday. Some US-based financiers are also lining up to buy the app Former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourtKevin O'Leary or Mr. Wonderful, of shark Tank fame, has signed McCourt's proposal And recently met Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“We have a formal proposal with ByteDance. We look forward to working with the company and President Trump to close the deal. “Together, we can transform TikTok into a clean tech stack and turn this national security problem into a big win for Americans,” McCourt said in a statement responding to the decision Friday.