The main line
TikTok could be removed from US app stores on Sunday after the Supreme Court on Friday lit up a federal law banning the app unless it splits from ByteDance, likely shutting down the app in the US – though it remains to be seen what will happen after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Monday.
Content creators Sarah Baus, left, and Tiffany Cianci stream live on TikTok outside the Supreme Court … [+]
Key facts
The justices issued an unsigned opinion upholding a lower court’s ruling in favor of a federal ban on the app, meaning the law will go into effect as scheduled on Sunday.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week on the legality of the federal law, which bans TikTok unless Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance gives up the platform, after TikTok and content creators on the app challenged the law and argued it violates their First Amendment rights.
The court ruled that the law does not violate the First Amendment rights of TikTok and its users, noting that while the law “certainly burdens [TikTok’s] Users’ expressive activity in a non-trivial way,” the policy is focused on China’s control of the platform and “make[es] do not target a particular speech based on its content” or “modify speech based on its function or purpose”.
The judges said the government’s decision to single out TikTok was justified, noting the law’s focus on “the ability of a foreign adversary to use its control over the platform to collect large amounts of personal data from 170 million users Americans” and argued that the intent “neither references the content of speech on TikTok nor reflects disagreement with the message conveyed by such speech.”
They supported the government’s national security justification for banning TikTok and ruled that the law was not overbroad in banning TikTok, as it is a “conditional ban” that merely “prevents[s] China from collecting data from US TikTok users unless and until a qualifying sale ends China’s control.”
Crucial quotes
“There is no question that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a unique and expansive opportunity for expression, a means of engagement, and a community resource,” the judges wrote. “But Congress has determined that unbundling is necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and dealings with a foreign adversary.”
What will happen when the Tiktok ban goes into effect?
It’s still unclear what will happen on Sunday when the federal law takes effect, assuming there are no big last-minute moves by TikTok to split from ByteDance before the deadline. President Joe Biden technically could still delay the law’s entry into force for 90 days if there is evidence of a sale, but there is no evidence of that so far, and Biden has not signaled any intention to stop the ban. The law specifies that companies that own US app stores will face penalties if they continue to host TikTok after the ban goes into effect, so Apple and Google are likely to remove the app from their app stores, meaning that users will not be able to download the application or update it. The law also bars Internet service providers from hosting TikTok, such as Oracle, which hosts the app’s user data in the US. While it’s been up in the air what that might look like in practice — as University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rosenstein pointed out to CBS News, TikTok could simply move those servers outside the U.S., keeping the app online – reports suggest the app will be shut down entirely for US users. The Information first reported late Tuesday that TikTok plans to go offline in the US on Sunday, which Reuters confirmed, citing anonymous sources who say users trying to access the app will only see a pop-up message directing them to on a website with information about the ban. . Those reports echo what TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco told the Supreme Court on Friday, saying he believed if the ban goes into effect, “We go dark — basically the platform shuts down.”
Are Lemon8, Capcut and other Bytedance apps banned too?
Yes, the TikTok ban is expected to affect other apps that are also owned by ByteDance, namely Lemon8 – which had been seen as a possible alternative to TikTok – and CapCut.
Will Bytedance Sell Tiktok? Who can buy Tiktok?
ByteDance and TikTok have so far resisted any suggestion that ByteDance could divest and sell TikTok’s US assets, with TikTok saying in a court filing that doing so would not be “technologically, commercially or legally” possible. . Now that the ban has been upheld, it’s unclear whether it will stay that way, however, and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar noted at the Supreme Court on Friday that the government thinks banning the app could be the “shock” that TikTok and ByteDance need. actually begin to separate. Reports of potential buyers have surfaced in recent days as the ban appears poised to take effect: Billionaire Frank McCourt said his group Project Liberty has made a formal offer to ByteDance for TikTok’s US assets and the Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has also said he was involved in the deal. China would have to approve any sale ByteDance makes, and James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NPR China could be persuaded to approve the sale in exchange for Trump backing down on his threat. to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.
Could Elon Musk buy Tiktok?
Another possibility that has emerged in recent days is that billionaire Elon Musk could step in to keep TikTok afloat, even as the now-renamed Tesla CEO X’s ownership of Twitter has sparked controversy. Several media outlets report that Chinese officials have held private talks about the possibility of selling TikTok’s US assets to Musk, who has expressed favorable views of China and its leadership and often does business in the country. It remains to be seen whether this will actually happen and TikTok has so far dismissed the reports as “pure fiction”. Musk has yet to comment on whether he would be interested in buying the app.
How much would Tiktok cost?
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives suggested in a note on Tuesday that ByteDance would likely look to sell TikTok’s US assets for somewhere between $40 billion and $50 billion. While that’s in line with Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, it’s far higher than McCourt’s Project Liberty has offered. The consortium said in December that its bid for ByteDance has $20 billion in commitments from investors, although that amount may now be higher.
Big number
32%. That’s the share of American adults who support the federal government banning TikTok, according to a Pew Research poll conducted in July and August, while 28% oppose it and 39% are unsure. Support for a TikTok ban has steadily declined, as Pew notes that the 32% who now support a TikTok ban is down from 50% who supported it in March 2023 and 38% in fall 2023.
Key background
The law targeting TikTok was passed in April after long-standing concerns about the app and its ties to China from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. TikTok has long denied any ties to the Chinese government or any wrongdoing, though Forbes has reported on numerous concerns about the app, including TikTok spying on journalists, maintaining accounts that promoted Chinese propaganda and criticizing American politicians, misusing its user data and “sensitive” tracking. the words. While the law has been passed for months, the ban became closer to reality in December, when a federal appeals court dismissed lawsuits filed by TikTok and content creators on the app, upholding the federal law. The panel of appeals judges ruled that the government’s national security concerns justified the ban and the law did not infringe on TikTok and its users’ First Amendment rights, as all content on the app would still be available if the company just split from ByteDance. TikTok then went to the Supreme Court after the appeals court also ruled against a temporary stay on the law, and the justices took up the case soon after, setting the case for oral arguments in a time frame that would allow the court decided before the law could come into effect.
Surprising fact
TikTok users fearing an imminent ban on the app have started flocking to the “Red Note” app in recent days, catapulting the app to the top of Apple’s app store as it has become a major alternative to TikTok. The move to the app goes against the federal government’s fears of Chinese influence on TikTok, as Red Note is a Chinese-owned app, and The New York Times reports that users are gravitating to the app as a signal to lawmakers that they don’t share concerns. of the government on Chinese influence.
Further reading
