Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a new law that would lead to Ban on social media platform TikTok, clearing the way for the popular app to shut down in the United States as early as Sunday.
"We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights," the court said in an unsigned unanimous opinion that upheld a lower court's ruling against TikTok. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote.
The court's opinion came days after the law passed Congress last April with a bipartisan majority. Settings take effect. TikTok and a group of content creators who use the app argue the law infringes on their right to free speech, and the Supreme Court heard their arguments a week ago in trying to block the law.
"The challenged provisions advance important governmental interests unrelated to the suppression of free speech and do not impose unnecessary burdens on speech that advance such interests," the court said, adding that the law requires TikTok to either divest or face a ban. purpose is by design. Prevent China from obtaining the personal data of U.S. users of the app.
"There is no question that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a unique and broad source of expression, engagement and community. But Congress has determined that in order to address its well-supported national security concerns, it is necessary Divestment. Regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries,” the court’s opinion said.
The law, called the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, requires TikTok to either spin off from its parent company ByteDance or cut ties with U.S. app stores and hosting services starting on January 19. He was sworn in on January 20 and began his second term. urge court Suspension of the law to allow him to pursue a "political solution" once he takes office.
Congress and the Biden administration say TikTok has raised national security concerns for years. Federal employees cannot use the app on government-issued phones, and most states have banned use of the platform on state government devices.
With the Supreme Court refusing to throw a lifeline to TikTok, the immediate impact on access to the app was unclear as of Sunday's deadline. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the company planned to shut down its platform for U.S. users once the ban takes effect. Those who try to open the app will reportedly receive a pop-up message directing them to a website containing new legal information.
Many users have already started Download their videos and data from TikTok Expect bans and migration to other platforms including Chinese-owned RedNote.
A White House official said the Biden administration will not implement the law starting Sunday, leaving it to the incoming Trump administration.
"Our position on this is clear: TikTok should continue to operate but be owned by the United States. Given the timing of it taking effect over the holiday weekend, the day before the inauguration, this will be implemented by the next administration," officials said.
TikTok and the Supreme Court
Federal officials say the law is intended to prevent China from collecting vast amounts of data from the platform's 170 million U.S. users and secretly manipulating content on TikTok to harm the United States by sowing discord and division.
But TikTok, which curates short videos for users through a powerful recommendation algorithm, said it is a U.S. company protected by the First Amendment and would not be affected by Congress's attempt to ban the platform.
During the debate, the justices appeared prepared to uphold the law, although some expressed concerns that it could conflict with the First Amendment. Still, many court members seemed to agree that the law targets foreign company ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, not speech shared on the platform.
Deputy Attorney General Elizabeth Preloga, defending the U.S. government, said the "unprecedented amounts" of personal data collected by TikTok would provide the Chinese government with "a powerful tool for harassment, recruitment and espionage." She cited several data breaches in the past decade that the United States has blamed on China, including a hack of the Office of Personnel Management that exposed the personal information of millions of federal employees.
"For years, the Chinese government has tried to build a detailed profile of Americans, including where we live and work, who our friends and colleagues are, what our interests are and what our vices are," Pregolar said. ”
Noel Francisco, who defends TikTok and ByteDance, said a potential Supreme Court ruling would be "significant." He said that if the two companies were forced to cut ties, TikTok "would be a fundamentally different platform" because the new owner would have to rebuild the algorithm, which would take years. Jeffrey Fisher, a representative of the creators, said other social media platforms have tried to copy the algorithm but have not been able to match TikTok.
If the law is not suspended or overturned by January 19, "we will be in darkness," Francisco said. "The platform is closed," he said, later clarifying that TikTok would no longer be available in U.S. app stores.
China has expressed its opposition to the sale of TikTok’s algorithm.
By law, potential new users will not be able to download the platform from the app store. But for those who already have TikTok installed on their phones, experts told cbs news The user experience may degrade over time as the application will no longer receive software updates.
Several justices, both liberal and conservative, have repeatedly expressed concerns about TikTok's collection of U.S. user data and the Chinese government's access to that personal information.
"Should we ignore the fact that the ultimate parent was actually going to do intelligence work for the Chinese government?" Chief Justice John Roberts asked Francisco, referring to ByteDance.
Roberts said Congress found ByteDance subject to Chinese law requiring it to cooperate with Chinese government intelligence efforts and ensure it had access to private data held by the company.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh also warned of the future implications of the Chinese government's access to data on the tens of millions of Americans who use TikTok every month.
He said Congress and the president are worried that China "will use this information over time to cultivate spies, betray people, blackmail people, and those people will be working for the FBI, CIA or State Department from now on." Isn't it a realistic assessment by Congress and the President of the risks here? "
Francisco claimed that TikTok "must remain silent" unless it severed ties with ByteDance, but Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson disputed that characterization of the law.
"If TikTok comes up with its own algorithm after the spinoff or before the spinoff, then when the spinoff happens, it can still run. It won't say, 'TikTok, you can't talk,'" she added, as long as there is no relationship with ByteDance association, TikTok can stay in the United States.
The stakes in the case are high for Americans who rely on TikTok to exchange ideas on topics ranging from politics to entertainment to news. Creators who challenge the law say they use it to sell products, reach thousands of people and create a national community.
"It's the editor and publisher we choose who we feel will best disseminate our speech," Fisher said.
trump card attempt to effectively ban He used TikTok during his first term over national security concerns, although his executive order targeting the app was blocked by a federal court and then reversed by Mr. Biden. But the president-elect has changed his mind about the platform.
Trump said in an interview with Newsmax this week that he had "nothing against" TikTok and said his campaign's use of the app helped him win over young voters in the November presidential election.
“I had a really good experience on TikTok,” he said.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew Meeting with Trump In December at his resort in South Florida, Mar-a-Lago, expected to attend The president-elect was inaugurated on Monday.
Trump also had a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, he wrote on The Truth Society. He said TikTok was one of the issues they discussed.
President-elect's pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, refuses to disclose at her confirmation hearing. Wednesday whether she would enforce the law, citing pending litigation, if she is confirmed to lead the Justice Department.