The US Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the ban on TikTok, set to take effect Sunday unless the app is sold by its China-based parent company.
The court ruled that the national security risks linked to TikTok’s connections with China outweigh concerns about restricting free speech for the app’s 170 million US users.
The decision comes amid political tensions involving President-elect Donald Trump and the Biden administration.
Saif Ali Khan Health Update
Trump has pledged to negotiate a solution, while Biden administration has indicated it will not enforce the TikTok ban starting Sunday, Biden’s final full day in office.
Trump, aware of TikTok’s massive popularity and his own 14.7 million followers on the platform, is at odds with prominent Senate Republicans who criticize TikTok’s Chinese parent company for failing to secure a buyer in time.
Meanwhile, a sale of TikTok does not seem likely in the near future. While experts note that the app will remain on existing users’ devices after the law takes effect on January 19, new downloads and updates will be blocked. According to the Justice Department, this will gradually make the app unusable over time.
The US government has raised concerns that TikTok collects extensive user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, which could potentially be accessed by the Chinese government through coercion. Officials also warn that TikTok’s algorithm could be manipulated by Chinese authorities to subtly influence content on the platform.
In response, TikTok argues that the US has not provided any evidence showing that China has attempted to access American user data or manipulate content on its US platform.