The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that could pave the way the banning of TikTok in the US to take effect immediately on Sunday.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden last year, would effectively banned the app in the US if TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, does not sell it to a buyer that US officials deem suitable by January 19. million users in the US.
The judges were not convinced by that argument. In his own the verdict, the Supreme Court announced that while TikTok is a “distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” Congress determined that the sale was necessary to “address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign opponent”.
“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights,” the court said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the court's decision would allow the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from “weaponizing TikTok to undermine America's national security.”
“Authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to the sensitive data of millions of Americans,” Garland said in a Justice Department statement.
Lawyers for TikTok and the US government stated their cases in oral arguments in court late last week, pitting the First Amendment against national security concerns. Based on questions and comments made by the justices during the more than two-hour hearing, they appeared to be more on board with the government's argument that the case is not about free speech and is instead about the dangers posed. from foreign adversaries, in this case China.
Read more: Downloads, Trump and VPNs: Everything you need to know about the potential ban on TikTok
Lawmakers in both political parties have long expressed concerns that TikTok could be a national security threat and could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans or spread disinformation to further China's agenda.
TikTok continues to deny those allegations. Before the congressional vote last year, TikTok has gathered its users in the USurging them to urge their representatives on Capitol Hill to vote for a ban. But the measure ultimately passed by wide margins in both houses of Congress.
It remains unclear what will happen to TikTok both over the next few days and in the long run.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a Justice Department statement that the next phase of the department's efforts to sever TikTok's ties to China, which will include enforcement and enforcement after the law takes effect Sunday, “will be a process that time will end.”
On Thursday, A a Biden administration official said ABC News that the White House does not plan to implement the law during the remaining days before Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Monday, January 20.
Trump, who pushed for a ban during his first term, now says he no longer favors one. In late December, Trump's lawyers filed an amicus brief in the case. They did not take sides, but asked the court to delay the ban to give Trump time to make a “political resolution.”