Clock ticking for TikTok as US Supreme Court upholds ban

January 18, 2025 TH Author

Updated The US Supreme Court has upheld a law requiring TikTok to either divest from its Chinese parent ByteDance or face a ban in the United States. The decision eliminates the final legal obstacle to the federal government forcing a shutdown of the platform for US users on January 19.

The SCOTUS issued a rapid decision [PDF] on the matter today, only a week after hearing oral arguments from representatives from TikTok, petitioners supporting the platform, and the federal government. The 27-page unanimous verdict doesn’t mince words, concluding that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PFACAA) doesn’t infringe upon the First Amendment rights of TikTok users.

As written, the act is about protecting Americans from Chinese data collection and has nothing to do with constraining free speech, SCOTUS said.

“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,” the court wrote in its decision. “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.”

“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights,” the justices concluded.

The decision, however, did not sit well with some free speech advocates. “We are disappointed that the Court would uphold such a sweeping restriction on Americans’ right to free speech – especially based on speculative ‘national security’ arguments that the government backed with minimal evidence,” Liberty Justice Center president Jacob Huebert said in a statement.

It’s not over yet

While the Supreme Court’s decision clears the way for the January 19 ban to go into effect, and TikTok has reportedly said it plans to comply with the ruling by shutting down its services in the US, it’s still not entirely clear what will happen on Sunday. One thing that may happen is the mobile application vanishing from US app stores.

Biden administration officials, speaking to the press on condition of anonymity, have said the outgoing President doesn’t intend to enforce the ban, leaving the matter for President-elect Trump to deal with upon taking office the day after the blockade is set to take effect.

That is to say, it’ll be up to Trump to oversee the real-world implementation of the law, and how the app will be banned, given that TikTok hasn’t been successfully sold off in time.

Trump sought to boot TikTok from the States in 2020, but now opposes a blockade. He is said to be working on an executive order to allow the platform to continue to operate in the US while seeking an Uncle Sam-approved American buyer.

“President Trump has recognized the dangerous precedent this ban sets, and we hope he will follow through with his stated intention to reach a deal to save the platform,” Huebert said.

Trump himself has said he “will be making the decision” on whether the app stays or goes in the United States.

As has been the case the entire time, a sale of TikTok to an American entity would require the approval of the Chinese government, as well as Uncle Sam, and it’s still unknown whether Beijing would acquiesce to such a move.

It’s also not clear how TikTok plans to respond on Sunday when the ban officially goes into effect and with Biden allegedly planning to kick the can to his successor. We contacted the video slinger to learn more about its next steps, and didn’t immediately hear back. ®

Updated to add at 1850 UTC on January 17, 2025

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew issued a statement following the Supreme Court decision, offering little insight into how the platform plans to respond to the ruling or what actions it intends to take on Sunday.

Instead of sharing any concrete plans, Chew thanked President-elect Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”

“We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a President who truly understands our platform … connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process,” he continued. Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration along with other tech leaders.

He went on to thank US TikTok users, and said the biz would do everything in its power “to ensure our platform thrives … for years to come,” but without mentioning how he intended to do so.

Updated to add at 0320 UTC, January 18

TikTok has been blunt about the situation, confirming it will pull the plug on its US operations if it doesn’t get a clear intervention from Biden by Sunday, when the divest-or-bye requirement kicks in. It sounds as though the biz wants to know what the repercussions will be for its suppliers – cloud providers, app stores, etc – if the application chooses to continue to be available or operate through Sunday.

Or in other words, if TikTok stays open to see what Trump will ultimately do, what will happen to organizations keeping the app going, if anything. If you’re hosting TikTok’s IT environment or software, you might want to pull the plug yourself to avoid legal trouble with this law kicking in and TikTok not yet divested – and the biz wants those concerns addressed.

“Unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the app maker said in a statement to El Reg.