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By Jesus Mesa
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The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law on Friday requiring ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, to sell its U.S. operations by January 19 or face a nationwide ban.
The justices ruled that TikTok's ties to China pose significant national security risks, outweighing concerns about free speech for the app and its 170 million American users.
But TikTok appeared poised for a temporary reprieve from a potential ban, with reports suggesting President Joe Biden did not plan to enforce the restriction on his final day in office.
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"Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address well-founded national security concerns about TikTok's data collection practices and its relationship with a foreign adversary," the justices ruled Friday in an unsigned opinion, paving the way for a ban on the platform to potentially take effect this weekend.
Last year, Congress passed a law signed by Biden requiring TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest the platform by January 19, just one day before the presidential inauguration. With no agreement reached and with the Court siding with the government, the ban seems inevitable.
However, political shifts and legal maneuvers have complicated the enforcement of legislation targeting TikTok's removal, with Biden reportedly deferring the issue to the incoming Trump administration.
Why It Matters
The effort to save TikTok, much like the original push to ban it in the U.S., has garnered bipartisan support. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer revealed that he spoke with Biden on Thursday, advocating for an extension of the deadline to ban TikTok.
Meanwhile, President-elect Trump, who once called for the app's ban, has now pledged to keep it available in the U.S. His transition team has not detailed how they plan to achieve this but has expressed a willingness to extend the deadline, offering a potential lifeline to the app's 170 million American users.
What To Know
The Biden administration has signaled that resolving the TikTok issue will fall to the next administration, according to officials cited by Bloomberg and the Associated Press.
With judgment day set for Sunday — driven by concerns that the app poses both a data security risk and functions as a propaganda tool for the Chinese state—politicians in both parties have been exploring ways to keep it accessible to American users. On Wednesday, Democrats attempted to pass legislation to extend the deadline, but Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas blocked the effort.
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Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, argued that TikTok has had ample time to secure a buyer, highlighting the lack of bipartisan consensus on the matter.
Amid this uncertainty, Trump-Vance Transition Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek that the president-elect remains committed to saving TikTok. "There's no better dealmaker than President Trump," Leavitt said in a statement sent via email.
Michael Waltz, Trump's incoming national security adviser, also confirmed that measures are being developed to prevent TikTok from "going dark." Speaking on Fox News, Waltz explained, "The law allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table," potentially granting ByteDance an additional 90 days to negotiate a sale.
Can Trump Rescue TikTok with an Executive Order?
Reports on Wednesday indicated that Trump is considering an executive order to quickly reinstate TikTok if the ban goes into effect on Sunday, just one day before he is sworn in. Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz, speaking to Fox News, did not rule out the possibility of Trump issuing an executive order to save the app.
However, his options may be limited now that the Supreme Court has weighed in, and any attempts to intervene could face another round of legal challenges in court.
What People Are Saying
The Supreme Court stated on Friday: "Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address well-founded national security concerns about TikTok's data collection practices and its relationship with a foreign adversary."
Noel Francisco, TikTok lawyer, told the Supreme Court last week when asked what happens if the ruling sides against the app: "We go dark. Essentially, the platform shuts down."
Waltz, Trump's national security advisor, said in January: "If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he's going to protect their data."
A White House spokesperson, in a previous statement to Newsweek: "Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate but under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement."
What's Next
It's unclear what options are open to Trump once he is sworn in as president on Monday. The law allowed for a 90-day pause in the restrictions on the app if there had been progress toward a sale before it took effect. However, ByteDance has shown little interest in selling even though the TikTok algorithm alone is thought to be worth somewhere in the tens of billions of dollars.
Without a sale to an approved buyer in the wings, TikTok has indicated it plans to shut down its app for U.S. users on Sunday. The app will be removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and users trying to access it will be redirected to a website explaining the ban. TikTok will also allow users to download their personal data.
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