Will Supreme Court Uphold Looming TikTok Ban? What We Know
By Movieguide® Contributor
After the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the TikTok case Friday, it seems it will likely ban TikTok in the U.S. unless sold to an American company.
“At the center of the case is a recent law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations by January 19, or face a nationwide ban. The Biden administration supports the law, arguing that it is necessary to protect American user data and prevent potential manipulation of content by the Chinese regime,” CBN reported Jan. 10. “TikTok, on the other hand, claims that the law violates the First Amendment rights of its millions of U.S. users.”
“President-elect Donald Trump has requested a delay in enforcing the law until after his inauguration. Trump’s move adds another layer of complexity to the already high-stakes case,” CBN said. “During the hearing, Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern about ByteDance’s alleged cooperation with Chinese laws, which may require the company to assist in Chinese intelligence operations.”
The case amounts to U.S. security concerns vs. TikTok users’ free speech. Much of America is closely watching this case, as it could be a precedent for how the government deals with international tech and digital security in the future.
“The ultimate company that controls it, ByteDance, was found by Congress to be subject to Chinese laws that require it to assist or cooperate with the Chinese government’s intelligence work,” Roberts said.
READ MORE: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT CALLS TIKTOK BAN ‘EXTREMELY HARMFUL’ FIRST AMENDMENT
Justice Amy Coney Barrett added, “The concern is about the covert content manipulation piece of the algorithm.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor also raised concerns about data collection.
“Not only is it getting your information, it’s asking, and most people give it permission to access your contact list, whether that contact list has permitted them to or not,” Sotomayor said. “So they can now have data about all of your contacts and anything you say about them.”
Though TikTok has received a handful of high bids, it’s unlikely to sell the platform, even if it means being banned.
Former owner of the L.A. Dodgers, Frank McCourt, is one of the interested buyers. He and his organization, Project Liberty, are hoping to rebuild TikTok’s algorithm from scratch with the intent to make TikTok a safer platform for Americans.
However, “ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok in the U.S. The algorithm that TikTok uses to keep users hooked is the key to its success, and the company has worked hard to protect it previously,” Inc. reported. “CEO Shou Chew has said that separating American users could ‘break’ the app. Beijing, meanwhile, has implied that it will not allow a forced sale of TikTok.”
READ MORE: HOW BANNING TIKTOK WILL IMPACT SMALL BUSINESSES
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