The Supreme Court has voted to uphold the ban on TikTok in the U.S., set to take effect on January 19.
The ban stems from national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Parent company ByteDance has argued that a ban would violate the First Amendment. In order for TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., ByteDance would need to divest. “The act’s prohibitions and divestiture requirement are designed to prevent China—a designated foreign adversary—from leveraging its control over ByteDance to capture the personal data of U.S. TikTok users. This objective qualifies as an important government interest under intermediate scrutiny,” the Supreme Court ruling reads.
The ruling continues, “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. 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. We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
It is unclear if incoming President Donald Trump, who called for ByteDance to sell off TikTok in his first term, will offer the platform a reprieve.
