TikTok faces U.S. ban as Supreme Court upholds sale order
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Friday a law that essentially mandates TikTok to change ownership or face a ban in the United States by 19th January. The Chinese firm, ByteDance Ltd., has refused to comply with American regulations.
The Supreme Court backed the law that could lead to the ban of the popular TikTok platform in the USA as early as Sunday, 19th January, reports Bloomberg. The judges ruled that concerns about Chinese control of the app and the potential risk to U.S. national security outweighed the right to freedom of speech online.
Will TikTok be blocked in the USA?
The law serves as an ultimatum for TikTok's owner, ByteDance Ltd. Either the Chinese company sells the app by 19th December, or TikTok will be banned in the USA. Approximately 170 million users in the USA are on the platform.
"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 court stated on 17th January.
The decision also has serious consequences for American giants Google and Apple. They face the prospect of significant fines if they continue to collaborate with TikTok. Bloomberg notes that President-elect Donald Trump promised to save TikTok and might suspend the enforcement of the new law when he assumes office on Monday, 20th January.
ByteDance has been adamant for weeks that it will not sell the platform. Meanwhile, reports have emerged globally that the Chinese, facing a ban in the USA, are considering billionaire Elon Musk acquiring TikTok.
The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden presented arguments before the court regarding the law's validity in this case. It was argued that continued Chinese control over TikTok could facilitate the dissemination of propaganda and the collection of American data for espionage purposes.
