On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from TikTok and parent company ByteDance, allowing the ban set to take place this weekend to go forward.
The Supreme Court was effectively TikTok’s last chance to sidestep divestiture or a nationwide ban in the United States. The court didn’t find TikTok’s argument that banning its popular video-sharing app would be a violation of the First Amendment compelling.
The Supreme Court did acknowledge that “TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community” for 170 million Americans. “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 justices concluded.
Therefore, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will go into effect on January 19, which means TikTok and ByteDance have hours to decide whether to cease operations in the US or find a buyer.
According to CNN, the Biden administration will leave it up to President-elect Donald Trump to enforce the ban, which Trump now says he wants to reverse.
“Our position on this has been clear,” a Biden official said. “TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when [the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act] goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement.”
Barring a surprise extension by President Biden, there’s a good chance that TikTok will no longer be accessible in the United States (at least temporarily) as of Sunday.
