The Supreme Court heard arguments for two and a half hours on Friday on whether TikTok could be banned in the United States in less than a week. In the end, the justices appeared poised to uphold legislation that would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the company or face a ban.
Last spring, President Joe Biden signed legislation into law requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular social media platform or face a national security ban. The social media giant wants to delay implementation of the law, scheduled for January 19, which they say violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government curtailment of free speech.
If the ban goes into effect on Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer be able to offer TikTok for download to new users, but existing users can still access the app. The US government and TikTok agree that the app will degrade and eventually become unusable over time because the companies will not be able to provide support services.
President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn into office on Jan. 20 — just one day after the ban could take effect. In late December, Trump asked the court to stay the January 19 deadline to give his incoming administration “an opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the issues at hand in this case.”
More:What you need to know about RedNote, the app Americans are downloading in the event of a TikTok ban
What will the SCOTUS decision determine?
If SCOTUS upholds the legislation, ByteDance will have until Sunday to stop operating TikTok in the US.
During Friday’s hearing, Justice Samuel Alito asked whether the court could temporarily block or suspend the law.
US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, arguing for the Biden administration in defense of the law, advised against a temporary block unless TikTok was likely to win based on its First Amendment claim to the right to distribute content. his. As for an administrative stay, Prelogar said he would defer to the courts if they have enough time to decide the case.
When will SCOTUS rule?
SCOTUS can release its decision at any time. The court does not need to issue a decision by a certain date.
How would banning TikTok affect users?
If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by January 19, the platform will be banned in the United States. This means it will become illegal for US web hosting services and app stores to distribute TikTok.
TikTok users who already have the app downloaded on their mobile devices will still have access to it, but they won’t be able to update the app, which will likely become unusable over time. The TikTok website will be made unavailable through US-based web hosting services.
Would there be a way to work around the TikTok ban?
How exactly the ban would be enforced is uncertain, but content creators are using the time before January 19 to educate other users about virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow online users to mask their locations. In theory, if a user uses a VPN to set their location outside the US, the user may be able to access TikTok.
But there are some cases in which VPNs wouldn’t work. Dan York, a senior adviser to the Internet Society, said popular VPNs could be blocked and using an overseas location wouldn’t work. Additionally, using a VPN can result in slower or unreliable connections, he said.
York also advised users to do thorough research before using a VPN, as there are malicious companies that may want to take advantage of users looking to use one for the first time.
Are there any interested buyers?
yes. Project Liberty, an organization led by billionaire Frank McCourt, announced last week that it made a formal offer to ByteDance to buy TikTok’s US assets. Liberty Project President Tomicah Tillemann said in a statement that the organization would not publicly disclose the amount of the bid.
McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that Project Liberty had secured verbal commitments of up to $20 billion for the acquisition. “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary announced last week that he was joining Project Liberty in the acquisition plan.
If Project Liberty were to successfully buy TikTok, it would only be US assets, which do not include the algorithm, as China views it as its intellectual property.
Contributed by USA TODAY’s Maureen Groppe
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email it to gcross@usatoday.com.
