Categories: USA

Supreme Court upholds US ban on TikTok

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court Friday unanimously upheld the federal law prohibiting TikTok starting Sunday, unless it is sold by its China-based parent company, believing that the national security risk posed by its ties to China outweighs concerns about limiting the freedom of expression of the application or its 170 million users in the United States.

A sale does not appear imminent, and while experts say the app won’t disappear from existing users’ phones once the law takes effect on Jan. 19, new users won’t be able to download it and updates won’t. will not be available. This will eventually render the app unusable, the Justice Department said in court filings.

The decision came amid unusual political turmoil from President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised he could negotiate a solution, and President Joe Biden’s administration, which has indicated it will not implement law starting Sunday, its last full day. in the office.

Trump, aware of the popularity of TikTok and his 14.7 million followers on the app, finds himself at odds with prominent Senate Republicans who criticize TikTok’s Chinese owner for failing to find a buyer before NOW. Trump said in a Truth Social article shortly before the decision was released that TikTok was among the topics discussed. his conversation Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

It’s unclear what options are available to Trump once he is sworn in as president on Monday. The law allowed a 90-day pause in restrictions on enforcement if progress had been made toward a sale before it took effect. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the law before the Supreme Court in the Democratic Biden administration, told the justices last week that it was unclear whether the prospect of a sale once the law entered into force force could trigger a 90-day reprieve for TikTok.

“Congress has determined that divestment is necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and its dealings with a foreign adversary,” the court said in an unsigned opinion, adding that the law “does not violate petitioners’ First Amendment.” rights.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch filed separate brief opinions, noting some reservations about the court’s decision but accepting the outcome.

“Without question, the remedy that Congress and the President have chosen here is dramatic,” Gorsuch wrote. However, he said he was convinced by the argument that China could have access to “vast amounts of personal information on tens of millions of Americans.”

During the arguments, the justices were told by a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese technology company that is its parent, how difficult it would be to reach a deal, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that made the deal happen. the social media platform is wildly successful.

The app allows users to watch hundreds of videos in about half an hour, as some only last a few seconds, according to a lawsuit filed last year by Kentucky, complaining that TikTok is designed to be addictive and harm children’s mental health. Similar lawsuits have been filed by more than a dozen states. TikTok called the claims inaccurate.

The dispute over TikTok’s ties to China has become the embodiment of the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing.

“ByteDance and its Chinese communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before Sunday’s deadline,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. “The very fact that communist China refuses to allow its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is. : a communist spy application. The Supreme Court rightly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda disguised as legal arguments.”

The United States has expressed concern that TikTok collects vast amounts of user data, including sensitive information about viewing habitswhich could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials also warned that the algorithm that powers what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape the platform’s content in ways that are difficult to detect.

TikTok emphasizes that the United States has not presented any evidence that China attempted to manipulate content on its American platform or collect data on American users through TikTok.

Bipartisan majorities in Congress passed legislation, and Biden signed it in April. The law was the culmination of a year-long saga in Washington on TikTok, that the government considered a threat to national security.

TikTok, which sued the government last year over the law, has long denied that it could be used as a tool by Beijing. A three-judge panel of two Republicans and one Democrat unanimously upheld the law in December, prompting TikTok to quickly appeal to the Supreme Court.

Without a sale to an approved buyer, the law prohibits app stores operated by Apple, Google and others from offering TikTok starting Sunday. Internet hosting services will also be prohibited from hosting TikTok.

ByteDance said it would not sell. But some investors are interested in it, notably that of Trump. former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt. McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative said she and her unnamed partners presented a proposal to ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets. The consortium, which includes “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary, did not disclose the financial terms of the offer.

Prelogar told the justices last week that the law’s coming into effect “may just be a shock.” ByteDance must reconsider its position.