TikTok Ban Looking Likely After U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case

TikTok is likely to be banned in the United States on January 19, after the United States Supreme Court indicated that it's leaning toward upholding the sell or ban law.

As highlighted by Bloomberg, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the case today, and it didn't go well for TikTok. Most of the justices indicated that worry over U.S. national security overrides free speech, and there were concerns about the personal data that TikTok collects from users, content manipulation, and the influence that China has over ByteDance.

Justice Elena Kagan wasn't a fan of TikTok's argument that its constitutional rights were being violated. "The law is only targeted at this foreign corporation, which doesn't have First Amendment rights," she said.

Justice John Roberts said that "Congress is fine with the expression," but "not fine with a foreign adversary ... gathering all this information about the 170 million people who use TikTok." He also questioned China's influence on ByteDance. "Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is in fact subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?" he asked TikTok's lawyer.

The Supreme Court could give a ruling on TikTok before January 19, or postpone the date that the law goes into effect to give more time for consideration. TikTok asked the court to halt the ban while it waits for the appeals process to play out, but the court elected to hear the case ahead of January 19.

If the court upholds the law, U.S. app stores will not be able to distribute the TikTok app as of January 19. TikTok users who already have the app will be able to continue using it, but it will stop functioning over time because updates won't be permitted.

ByteDance can opt to sell TikTok to an approved company, which would allow TikTok to continue to operate. A sale won't happen before January 19, but if TikTok is banned, it could be reinstated after a sale. ByteDance has claimed that a sale is not possible, and that China would not approve the divestiture of TikTok and its algorithm.

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