US Supreme Court Leans Towards TikTok Ban

US Supreme Court justices favor upholding a ban on TikTok due to national security concerns. A majority of the nine judges that comprise the nation’s highest court are leaning towards banning the social media site unless TikTok parent ByteDance sells it to a US entity before the 19 January deadline.

During the hearing, TikTok lawyers and content creators maintained the impending ban violates the 170 million users’ free speech interests. However, several justices voiced their concern over ByteDance’s alleged close ties with the Chinese Communist government. “Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is in fact subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked TikTok’s lawyer. TikTok attorney Noel Francisco said that after the hearing, the Supreme Court justices understood the importance of this case and that it was very hopeful of a favorable decision.

After initially supporting a proposed ban of TikTok in his first term, President-elect Donald Trump stated last month that he has a warm spot in his heart for TikTok. Trump asked the Supreme Court to postpone hearing arguments by TikTok and ByteDance on 10 January about the proposed ban until he becomes president. A US government lawyer said during the hearing that it is not clear if Trump could extend the divestiture deadline once he is sworn into office on 20 January.

The social media app will likely disappear from Google and Apple app stores if TikTok is banned. Current users may still be able to access the service, but will no longer be able to download updates, which will likely lead to the app degrading over time.