Supreme Court TikTok

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously affirmed the federal ban on TikTok, effective Sunday, unless its Chinese parent company sells it. The court ruled that national security risks outweigh free speech concerns for the app’s 170 million U.S. users.

A sale isn’t imminent. While experts suggest the app won’t vanish for current users after January 19th, new downloads and updates will be blocked, eventually rendering it unusable, according to the Justice Department.

The decision follows unusual political maneuvering. President-elect Donald Trump pledged a negotiated solution, contrasting with President Biden’s administration, which indicated it wouldn’t enforce the law starting Sunday, his last full day in office.

Trump, noting TikTok’s popularity (including his own 14.7 million followers), opposes prominent Senate Republicans who criticize TikTok’s Chinese owner for failing to secure a buyer sooner. Trump mentioned TikTok in a Truth Social post before the ruling.

Trump’s post-inauguration options remain unclear. The law offered a 90-day delay if a sale was underway. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, stated last week that a post-ban sale might not trigger this delay.

“Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” the court stated in an unsigned opinion, adding that the law “does not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch issued concurring opinions expressing reservations but supporting the outcome.

“Without doubt, the remedy Congress and the President chose here is dramatic,” Gorsuch wrote. However, he acknowledged concerns about China accessing “vast troves of personal information about tens of millions of Americans.”

Several digital rights organizations criticized the ruling.

“Today’s unprecedented decision upholding the TikTok ban harms the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world,” said Kate Ruane, a director at the Washington-based Center for Democracy & Technology, which supported TikTok’s challenge.

Content creators also expressed concern. “I’m very, very concerned about what’s going to happen over the next couple weeks,” said Desiree Hill, a business owner. “And very scared about the decrease that I’m going to have in reaching customers and worried I’m going to potentially lose my business in the next six months.”

During arguments, TikTok and ByteDance’s lawyer highlighted the sale’s difficulty, citing Chinese restrictions on selling the proprietary algorithm behind the app’s success.

The app’s short-form videos allow users to watch substantial content in about half an hour, according to a Kentucky lawsuit alleging addictive design and harm to children’s mental health. Similar suits have been filed by others. TikTok disputes these claims.

The TikTok dispute symbolizes U.S.-China geopolitical competition.

“ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline,” Sen. Tom Cotton wrote on X. “The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app. The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments.”

The U.S. expressed concerns about TikTok’s user data collection, fearing potential access by the Chinese government. They also warned of algorithm manipulation by Chinese authorities to subtly shape content.

TikTok maintains that the U.S. lacks evidence of Chinese content manipulation or data harvesting through TikTok.

Bipartisan Congressional legislation, signed by Biden in April, culminated years of scrutiny of TikTok, which the government deemed a national security risk.

TikTok, which sued the government last year, denies being a tool of Beijing. A three-judge panel unanimously upheld the law in December, leading to the Supreme Court appeal.

Without an approved sale, the law prevents Apple, Google, and other app stores from offering TikTok starting Sunday. Internet hosting services will also be prohibited.

ByteDance has stated it won’t sell. However, investors including Trump’s son-in-law and billionaire businessman, have shown interest. McCourt’s Project Liberty, including “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary, proposed acquiring TikTok’s U.S. assets. Financial details weren’t disclosed.

McCourt stated his group is “ready to work with the company and President Trump to complete a deal.”

Prelogar suggested the law’s enforcement “might be just the jolt” ByteDance needs.

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Associated Press writers Haleluya Hadero, Mae Anderson and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report. Hadero reported from South Bend, Indiana, and Anderson from New York.

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