Supreme Court rules to uphold TikTok ban, setting stage for shutdown

U Supreme Court On Friday, he confirmed the law requiring ByteDance, based in China, to give up its ownership of TikTok by Sunday or face it. an effective ban of the popular social video app in the United States

ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok, which means many American users could lose access to the app this weekend. The app may also work for those who already have TikTok on their phones, although ByteDance has also threatened to shut down the app.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Controlled Applications Act that the president Joe Biden signed in April.

“There is no question that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, a means of engagement and a source of community,” the Supreme Court opinion said. “But Congress has determined that the waiver is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote concurrences.

The fate of TikTok in the United States now it is in the hands of the president-elect Donald Trumpthat in December he asked the Supreme Court at pause the implementation of the law and allow his administration “an opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

Trump will be inaugurated on Monday, a day after TikTok’s deadline for sale. Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok is one of many technology leaders expected to be presentsitting on the stage.

The nation’s highest court said that while “the collection and analysis of data is a common practice in this digital age,” TikTok’s large size and its “susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects.” poses a national security concern.

Under the terms of the law, third-party Internet service providers like Apple and Google will be penalized for supporting a ByteDance TikTok after January 19.

If Internet service providers and app store owners comply, they will remove TikTok from their respective app stores, preventing users from downloading TikTok or installing the necessary updates that make the app functional.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated President Biden’s support for the law in a statement, saying that “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but only under American ownership or other ownership.” that addresses national security issues identified by Congress in developing this law.”

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law should simply fall to the next Administration, which assumes office on Monday,” said Pierre.

Kate Ruane, the director of the non-profit Center for Democracy and Technology criticized the decision of the Supreme Court, saying in a statement that it “damages the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world” .

“Individuals use apps to create, to share information, to get their news, to comment on current issues and promote their businesses — this is precisely the kind of expression that the First Amendment is meant to protect.” Ruane said.

In December, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, in which they urged managers to start preparing to comply with the law and reminded them of their duties as app store operators.

Last Friday, the The Supreme Court heard oral arguments by lawyers representing TikTok, content creators and the US government. TikTok’s lead attorney, Noel Francisco, argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the app’s 170 million American users. Meanwhile, US Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar responded that the app’s alleged ties to the People’s Republic of China via its parent ByteDance pose a threat to national security.

After oral arguments concluded, many legal experts believed that the nation’s highest court appeared to be more favorable to the US government’s case involving TikTok’s alleged dubious ties to the Chinese government.

Many TikTok creators have told their fans to find them on competitive social platforms like Google’s YouTube and Facebook and Meta’s Instagram, CNBC said. reported. In addition, Instagram leaders have planned meetings after the Supreme Court hearing last Friday to direct workers to prepare for a wave of users if the court supports the law, the CNBC report said.

Chinese social media app and TikTok-lookalike RedNote came out on top of Apple’s app store on Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users are looking for alternatives.

The Chinese government also weighed a contingency plan that Elon Musk has acquired the American operations of TikTok as part of several options aimed at keeping the app from its effective ban in the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Monday The plan was one of several the Chinese government considered as part of larger discussions involving working with the next Trump White House, the report said.

In the event that ByteDance decides to sell TikTok to a US company or a group of investors, potential buyers may have to pay between $40 billion and $50 billionaccording to an estimate by CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino.

WATCH: : SCOTUS hears TikTok ban case.