The US Supreme Court has upheld the law mandating China-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by Sunday, or face an effective ban of the popular video-sharing app in the United States. The ruling underscores growing national security concerns tied to TikTok’s data collection practices and alleged links to the Chinese government,
US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch called on Congress or the judiciary’s committee responsible for drafting rules for federal courts to address the government’s use of classified evidence that’s shielded from litigants.
The Supreme Court seemed to lean Thursday toward upholding a law forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell off TikTok, with all nine justices indicating national security concerns posed by the social media app outweighed potential threats to free speech.
"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 federal law was the culmination of a yearslong saga over TikTok, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections in China.
The justices found the government’s concerns over potential privacy abuses at TikTok persuasive, especially if users oblige the TikTok app’s requests for contacts and calendar data.
Justice Gorsuch objected to "the government's attempt ... Unfortunately, most of the Court seemed sufficiently persuaded that forcing ByteDance—a foreign company that does not itself enjoy ...
The Supreme Court appeared ready to uphold a law that will ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owners don't sell the widly popular platform.
After TikTok said it would be "forced to go dark" on Sunday unless the White House took action, President-elect Trump told ABC News he'd be likely to grant the social media company an extension.
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company,
"I cannot profess the kind of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and record before us," writes Justice Gorsuch.