TikTok could be shut down unless the Supreme Court blocks or delays the US ban

TikTok could be shut down unless the Supreme Court blocks or delays the US ban

In one of the most important cases of the social media age: freedom of speech and national security clash in the Supreme Court on Friday in arguments over the fate of TikTok, a hugely popular digital platform that about half of people in the United States use for entertainment and information.

TikTok could shut down the social media site in the United States by January 19 unless the Supreme Court overturns or otherwise delays the entry into force of a law aimed at restricting the sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent company to force.

“Without such relief, the law will take effect on January 19, 2025,” TikTok said in a Dec. 9 filing. “This would close TikTok – one of the country’s most popular voice platforms – to its more than 170 million domestic monthly users on the eve of the presidential inauguration.”

With the justices facing a tight deadline, they also face an appeal from President-elect Donald Trump, who has abandoned his previous support for a ban, to give him and his new administration time to find a “political solution” and a decision about the ban to avoid case. It’s unclear whether the court will consider the Republican president-elect’s views – a highly unusual attempt to influence a case.

TikTok and China-based ByteDance, as well as content creators and users, argue that the law is a dramatic violation of the constitutional guarantee of free expression.

“Rarely, if ever, has the Court considered a free speech case that matters to so many people,” lawyers for the users and content creators wrote. Content creators are eagerly awaiting a decision that could upend their existence and are eyeing other platforms.


What a possible TikTok ban could mean for content creators and everyday users

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The case represents another example of the court being asked to rule on a medium with which the justices have acknowledged they have little familiarity or expertise, despite frequently weighing in on weighty issues such as speech restrictions.

The Biden administration is defending the law, which President Joe Biden signed in April after it was approved by a broad bipartisan majority in Congress, claiming that “no one can seriously dispute that (China’s) control of TikTok through ByteDance is a poses a serious threat to national security.”

Officials say Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to release information about TikTok’s U.S. customers or use the platform to spread or suppress information.

But the government “acknowledges that there is no evidence that China has ever made such an attempt,” TikTok told the judges, adding that restrictions on expression should not be upheld if they are based on fears that may arise in the future risks based.

In December, a panel of three appeals judges, two appointed by Republicans and one appointed by a Democrat, unanimously upheld the law and rejected requests for First Amendment speech.

To make matters worse, the court is hearing arguments just nine days before the law is scheduled to come into force and ten days before a new government takes office.

In language more likely to be found in a campaign ad than a legal brief, lawyers for Trump have asked the court to temporarily block the TikTok ban from taking effect but refrain from making a permanent solution.

“President Trump alone has the deep negotiating expertise, electoral mandate and political will to negotiate a solution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns raised by the administration – concerns that President Trump himself has acknowledged.” said D. John Sauer, Trump’s pick to be his administration’s top lawyer on the Supreme Court, wrote in a legal brief filed with the court.

Trump did not refer to the underlying merits of the case, Sauer wrote. Trump’s campaign used TikTok to engage with younger voters, particularly male voters, and Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in December. He has 14.7 million followers on TikTok.

The justices have set aside two hours for arguments, and the session is likely to last well beyond that. Three highly experienced Supreme Court lawyers will argue. Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar will present the Biden administration’s legal defense, while Trump’s attorney general in his first administration, Noel Francisco, will argue on behalf of TikTok and ByteDance. Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, who represents content creators and users, will make his 50th argument before the Supreme Court.

If the law goes into effect, Trump’s Justice Department will be tasked with enforcing it. Lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance have argued that the new administration could seek to mitigate the law’s most serious consequences.

But they also said a closure of just a month would result in TikTok losing about a third of its daily users in the US and significant advertising revenue.

In considering the case, the court must decide what level of scrutiny it will apply to the law. Under the most thorough scrutiny and scrutiny, laws almost always fail. But two judges on the appeals court that upheld the law said it was the rare exception that could withstand strict scrutiny.

TikTok, the app’s users and many briefs supporting them are asking the court to conduct a rigorous review to strike down the law.

But the Democratic administration and some of its supporters are citing restrictions on foreign ownership of radio stations and other industries to justify efforts to counter Chinese influence through the TikTok ban.

A decision could be made within a few days.

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