TikTok's Day in Court Was Far From Impressive
TikTok's doom looms large as the Supreme Court weighed in on the legality of a law that could see the popular social media platform banned in the U.S. By January 19, ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owners, must divest from the app or risk a nationwide ban affecting its 170 million American users.
A ruling is forthcoming ahead of the deadline, and reports indicate that justices appeared skeptical of TikTok's arguments. Previously, ByteDance and a group of TikTok creators lost their case in a lower federal court, setting the stage for this last-ditch Supreme Court appeal.
This battle revolves around a bipartisan law, signed by President Biden in 2023, that prohibits TikTok's operation unless ByteDance severs control of its U.S. subsidiary. Intelligence officials and politicians have long raised alarm over TikTok's ownership, cautioning against the Chinese government's potential use of its addictive algorithm as a propaganda machine and the threat posed by collected user data to U.S. national security.
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar dived deep into these concerns, emphasizing the Chinese government's potential to weaponize TikTok's sensitive user data for blackmail or manipulation.
TikTok's lawyer, Noel Francisco, countered that the law suppressed free speech, as it targeted specific ideas and content. In addition, Congress failed to consider less restrictive alternatives for preventing Chinese access to user data. Francisco argued that the law would necessitate TikTok's shutdown due to the difficulty of selling the platform and the inability of a new owner to utilize ByteDance's proprietary recommendation algorithm.
The case hinges on key questions: Is a foreign entity control ban an unconstitutional restriction on protected speech? Can Congress justify national security concerns under strict scrutiny standards, overriding First Amendment protections?
During the two-and-a-half-hour hearing, Prelogar and several justices highlighted how the law didn't require TikTok to close—a new owner could simply switch to a different recommendation algorithm, even promoting pro-Chinese content, as long as the Chinese government didn't have direct access to the app.
While a decisive verdict seems likely, justices could opt for a temporary stay to facilitate negotiations between TikTok and President-elect Trump, who requested such a delay in a recent court filing.
[1][3][4] Enrichment Data: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal law requiring TikTok to shut down in the U.S. unless ByteDance sells off the U.S. company by January 19, 2025. The Court applied an intermediate scrutiny standard, and the ban remains a threat despite TikTok's First Amendment challenges. The law, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was signed into effect on April 24, 2024, and the ban is set to take effect on January 19, 2025.
In the face of the looming January 19 deadline, tech companies worldwide are closely watching the Supreme Court's decision, as its ruling could set a precedent for the regulation of future tech applications with foreign ownership. Despite TikTok's lawyers arguing that the law infringes on free speech, there are concerns about the potential use of user data by Chinese entities for malicious purposes, highlighting the complex intersection of technology, future security, and the protection of national interests.
