TikTok Ban Upheld By US Supreme Court; 'Unless...' - What Apex Court Said | Details

The United States Supreme Court has ruled against TikTok on Friday as the social media platform had challenged a federal law that would have required the app to be sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance or banned in the United States, starting January 19, 2025.

According to the ruling of the justices, the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the US Constitution's First Amendment protection against government's restriction on free speech.

The justices had overturned a lower court's decision that had upheld the measure after it was challenged by TikTok, ByteDance and some of the users of the app.

The Supreme Court held arguments on January 10, just nine days before the deadline was set under the law. Free speech rights were pitted against national security concerns in this case, especially in the era of social media.

TikTok's Story

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the United States and it is used by approximately 270 million Americans which is roughly half of the country's population. The app's algorithm is its main asset and it feeds individual users short videos tailored to their liking.

Given that China and the United States are geopolitical rivals and the app is owned by a Chinese company ByteDance, the fight is coming at a time of rising tensions between the two biggest economies of the world. This factor is further highlighted when Biden's waning presidency days are taken into consideration.

The Biden administration had said the law targets control of the app by a foreign adversary, not protected speech, adding that TikTok could continue to operate as-is, if it is freed from Chinese control.

Arguments Of The Case

According to a Reuters report, Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Prelogar said that the Chinese government's control of TikTok poses a "grave threat" to the United States national security, with China seeking to amass vast quantities of sensitive data on Americans and to engage in covert influence operations. Prelogar said China compels companies such as ByteDance to secretly turn over data on social media users and carry out Chinese government directives.

She added that TikTok's immense data set represents a powerful tool that could be used by the Chinese Government for harassment, recruitment and espionage and the country could weaponize TikTok at anytime to harm the United States.

Where Does Trump Stand On The TikTok Debate?

In recent times, trump has opposed the ban and there has been a reversal in his stance from his first term in office when he was thinking of prohibiting the app.

Trump said that he has a "warm spot" in his hear for TikTok, adding that the app helped him young voters in 2024 elections.

In December, President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to put the law on hold to give his incoming administration "the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case."