The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a federal law banning TikTok in the US unless it's sold to an approved buyer by its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The decision means TikTok will be effectively blocked from operating in the country starting Sunday unless a sale is completed.
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law banning TikTok unless it's sold by its China -based parent company. The decision, which came against a backdrop of unusual political agitation by President-elect Donald Trump, means that TikTok will be effectively barred from operating in the US beginning Sunday unless it's sold to an approved buyer.
A sale does not appear imminent, and while experts say the app won't disappear from existing users' phones once the law takes effect on Jan. 19, new users won't be able to download it, and updates won't be available. That will eventually render the app unworkable, the Justice Department has said in court filings. The law, passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of growing concerns about TikTok's ties to China and the potential national security risks posed by the app. Officials have warned that TikTok's vast trove of user data, which includes information about their location, browsing habits, and even the content they create, could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. They have also expressed concern that the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content in a way that's difficult to detect.TikTok has long denied that it could be used as a tool of Beijing and has pointed out that the U.S. has not presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its U.S. platform or gather American user data through TikTok. However, the Supreme Court's decision makes it clear that the government is taking these concerns very seriously. The justices were told by a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese technology company that is its parent, how difficult it would be to consummate a deal, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful. McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative has said it and its unnamed partners have presented a proposal to ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets. The consortium, which includes “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary, did not disclose the financial terms of the offer. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the law at the Supreme Court for the Democratic Biden administration, told the justices last week that having the law take effect “might be just the jolt” ByteDance needs to reconsider its position.
Tiktok Supreme Court National Security China Bytedance Sale Ban US Law
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