Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Unlock the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
US Supreme Court justices on Friday appeared skeptical of TikTok’s efforts to throw out a federal “divest-or-ban” law, as the social media platform warned that it One of its biggest markets could go “dark” in nine days.
Friday’s oral arguments centered on whether a law that would force Chinese parents to use TikTok would be allowed to go into effect Bytedance The platform must be dismantled by January 19 — the day before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president — or face a nationwide ban.
The law, passed last year with strong bipartisan support, raised concerns that the video platform, which has exploded in popularity among teenagers and now counts 170 million US users, could be used by Beijing for espionage purposes or to promote propaganda.
tiktok The complaint denied and claimed the law violated First Amendment protections for free speech. Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to “save the app” and asked the top court to delay the legislative deadline to “give a chance to follow through.” political solution There are questions about the case when he returns to the White House later this month.
Either way, the court’s decision will have far-reaching implications for free speech in the United States as well as global relations with China.
During oral arguments Friday, judges from across the ideological spectrum repeatedly challenged TikTok’s arguments that the law is an attack on free speech, instead focusing on concerns about how the platform is used. “Secret Manipulation” And its data is vulnerable to harvesting by Beijing.
One of TikTok’s lawyers, Noel Francisco of Jones Day, said the law “singled out the company for exceptionally harsh treatment, and it did so because the government fears that China could, indirectly, pressure TikTok in the future”.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a member of the court’s conservative wing, responded: “Should we then ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, a subject of intelligence work for the Chinese government?”
Justice Elena Kagan, part of the court’s liberal wing, acknowledged that the agency “is going to suffer some serious damage [but] collateral effect”. If TikTok eventually loses access to ByteDance’s algorithm, the law still “leaves TikTok with the ability to do what every other actor in the United States can do, which is the best available algorithm. finds”, he said.
US Solicitor-General Elizabeth Preloger emphasized the government’s national security argument. Beijing’s efforts to undermine the US by collecting “sensitive information” about Americans and its ability to force companies to turn over such material “mean that the Chinese government can use TikTok weapons at any time to harm the US”, he said.
she said Bytedance had already accepted Beijing’s demands, alleging that there was evidence that it had “taken steps to misuse information . . . to track Hong Kong dissidents.” [and] The Uyghurs in China”.
ByteDance “misappropriated US data” when it admitted to improperly obtaining the data of two US journalists, including one Reporter of the Financial Timesshe added.
TikTok has argued that a spin-off before the deadline would be technically “unlikely”. Beijing, which will have a say under China’s export laws, also said it opposed the sale and characterized the law as a “brazen act of commercial robbery.” Francisco, TikTok’s lawyer, reiterated that point on Friday, saying a split would be “extremely difficult under any timeframe.”
Asked what would happen on January 19 if the company loses the case, Francisco replied: “As I understand it, we go dark.”
The court is expected to issue a ruling before the January 19 deadline, potentially sealing the fate of a leading source of entertainment and news for young people, which has thousands of influencers. Attracted top advertising dollars in addition to providing a living.
Even if the court ruled against TikTok, Trump could intervene once in power, though it’s unclear how. The president-elect’s sudden rescue mission of the video app came in part after he used the platform during last year’s election campaign to engage with young voters.
It also comes as Trump said he wants to preserve “competition” in a market dominated by Mark Zuckerberg’s meta after criticizing the US social network as an “enemy of the people” for alleged censorship of conservative content.
