TikTok on the Brink: US Supreme Court to Review Potential Ban
TikTok, the popular social media platform, is inching closer to a potential nationwide ban as the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on January 10, 2025. The arguments will focus on the constitutionality of federal legislation specifically targeting TikTok.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act mandates that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must sell its US operations by January 19, 2025. Failing to do so will result in a ban. A federal appeals court recently upheld this law, dismissing TikTok’s First Amendment challenges and deeming the legislation necessary to safeguard national security interests.
“The TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based on inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, leading to outright censorship of the American people,” a TikTok spokesperson stated. The company maintains that the law infringes on the free speech rights of its 170 million American users.
President-elect Trump has expressed his desire to ‘save’ the app. This is despite his previous attempts to ban it during his first term. However, it is still uncertain whether he has the legal authority to override the legislation.
Source: NPR