US Supreme Court upholds ban on TikTok
Washington: The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that bans TikTok, the video sharing App, from Sunday unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company.
The court’s ruling was unanimous. “There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court said in its opinion. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
The fate of the app, which has 170 million users in the US, is not clear. The current administration has indicated it might not enforce the ban when it comes into effect on Sunday, which is going to be President Joe Biden’s last day in office.
Incoming President Donald Trump, however, has appeared to be partial to keeping the app alive. He said in a post on Truth Social that TikTok was among the many issues he discussed in a call with China’s President Xi Jinping just hours before the Supreme Court ruling. TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew, in the meantime, is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
The law will keep the app alive for 90 days if its sale by Byte Dance, the parent company, is in active negotiations. There have been reports that the Chinese government would like Elon Musk, the billionaire and adviser to Trump, to buy the app. But there are others who have expressed the desire to buy the app.
The US Congress passed the law — and Biden signed it into law — forcing TikTok to be sold by Byte Dance or be shut down in April 2024. Lawmakers and security experts fear that the Chinese authorities could access data about American users of the App by leaning on Byte Dance and have said the only way to prevent that is by dissociating it from its parent company.
India banned TikTok along with 60 other Chinese apps over national security concerns in 2020.