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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.
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.
Image: File photo

The US Supreme Court has upheld a law banning TikTok on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell the short-video app by today, Sunday.

The justices ruled that the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the a constitutional protection against government abridgment of free speech.

“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. 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 said.

Support of new legislation to ban TikTok in the US.
Support of new legislation to ban TikTok in the US.
Image: Statista

Republican Donald Trump, who opposed a TikTok ban, succeeds Biden in the White House tomorrow.

“The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,” Trump said in a social media post. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”

Trump also said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues including TikTok in a phone call on Friday.

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. 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’s 9-0 unanimity underscored the acceptance by the justices of the national security risks cited by Biden’s administration concerning China’s potential to exert control over the app, which blunted apprehensions over free speech infringements.

“TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swathes of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns,” the court said in the opinion.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement reiterated Biden’s position that “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law”.

Given the timing, Jean-Pierre added, action to implement the law “must fall to the next administration”.

TikTok plans to shut US operations of the app today barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, seated among other high-profile invitees. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TikTok is one of the most prominent social media platforms in the US. Its powerful algorithm, its main asset, feeds individual users short videos tailored to their liking. The platform presents a vast collection of user-submitted videos, often under a minute in duration, that can be viewed with a smartphone app or on the internet. China and the US are economic and geopolitical rivals, and TikTok’s Chinese ownership for years has raised concerns in Washington. The TikTok fight has unfolded at a time of rising trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

Reuters

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