The Supreme Court’s ruling means TikTok must be sold or face a ban in the U.S.
Washington: The U.S. Supreme Court just decided to keep a law that could ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells it. This ruling comes after years of concerns about national security.
The court acknowledged that TikTok is a huge platform for over 170 million Americans, but they believe selling it is necessary to address data privacy issues linked to its ties with China.
Last year, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok by Sunday or risk being removed from U.S. app stores. TikTok tried to fight this in court, claiming it violated their First Amendment rights, but they lost.
Now, TikTok has to decide whether to sell the app. Interestingly, President-elect Donald Trump, who once wanted to ban TikTok, now seems to support keeping it available in the U.S.
Trump mentioned in a social media post that he had a good conversation with China’s President Xi Jinping and hopes to work together on various issues, including TikTok.
Back in 2020, Trump tried to ban TikTok unless it separated from ByteDance, but he changed his mind last year. His attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, didn’t clarify if she would enforce the TikTok ban during her confirmation hearing.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration. Other tech leaders like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos will also be there, having donated to Trump’s campaign.
Chew expressed gratitude to Trump for his willingness to find a solution to keep TikTok running in the U.S. He emphasized that TikTok is a platform for community and self-expression.
In February 2024, a report highlighted concerns about TikTok accounts linked to Chinese propaganda targeting U.S. political candidates during the midterms.
The law requiring TikTok’s sale had bipartisan support in Congress, passing with a strong vote. President Biden signed it, but the decision to enforce it now falls to Trump’s administration.
Biden’s stance has been clear: TikTok should remain available but under American ownership to address security concerns. The next administration will have to take action on this issue.
Concerns about ByteDance’s connections to the Chinese government were a major reason for pushing this law. TikTok claims it is mostly owned by global investors, but some shares still belong to its Chinese founders.
Democratic senators tried to extend the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok, but Republicans blocked that effort.
