Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban Pending Sale: Trump Left to Decide App’s Fate

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban unless ByteDance sells. Ban starts Sunday, raising national security concerns and free speech debates.
TikTok - Donald Trump

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law on Friday that bans TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform.

The ruling, which goes into effect on Sunday, prioritizes concerns about national security over the potential free speech limitations for TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users.

The Biden administration has signaled it will not enforce the law on its final full day in office, leaving the decision to President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday. Trump has previously shared that he wants to find a resolution. Still, the path forward remains unclear, especially as TikTok’s popularity and its 14.7 million followers on Trump’s account complicate any action’s optics.

The ruling stems from concerns that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses risks to U.S. national security, particularly regarding data privacy and potential influence by the Chinese government. Under the law, new app downloads will be blocked starting January 19, and updates will no longer be available.

While existing users won’t immediately lose access to TikTok, the lack of updates will eventually make the app unusable, according to the Justice Department.

Despite the urgency of the situation, a sale of TikTok appears unlikely. ByteDance also faces hurdles, including restrictions under Chinese law on transferring the app’s proprietary algorithm, a key component of its success.

Trump has criticized ByteDance for failing to secure a buyer but has also expressed an interest in avoiding the app’s ban. Adding to the uncertainty, the law includes a provision for a 90-day pause in enforcement if substantial progress toward a sale is made before the ban takes effect.

However, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar noted during Supreme Court arguments that it remains unclear whether progress made after the ban could trigger this reprieve.

Photo Credit: DepositPhotos.com