US Supreme Court upholds law banning TikTok

17 January 2025, 21:04

TikTok app logo
Albania-TiKTok. Picture: PA

There are concerns over national security over the app, which has 170 million users in America.

The US Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok starting on Sunday, unless the app is sold by its China-based parent company.

The court holds that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in America.

A sale does not appear imminent and, although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users’ phones once the law takes effect on January 19, new users will not be able to download it and updates will not be available.

That will eventually render the app unworkable, the US Justice Department has said in court filings.

The decision came against the backdrop of unusual political agitation by US President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed that he could negotiate a solution and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has signalled it will not enforce the law beginning on Sunday, his final full day in office.

“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,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, noting that actions to implement the law will fall to the new administration.

Mr Trump, mindful of TikTok’s popularity – and his own 14.7 million followers on the app – finds himself on the opposite side of the argument from prominent Senate Republicans, who fault TikTok’s Chinese owner for not finding a buyer before now.

Donald Trump
Mr Trump finds himself on the opposite side to prominent Republicans in the debate over the app (AP)

It is unclear what options are open to Mr Trump once he is sworn in as US President on Monday.

The law allowed for a 90-day pause in the restrictions on the app if there had been progress toward a sale before it took effect.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the law at the Supreme Court for the Democratic Biden administration, told the justices last week that it is uncertain whether the prospect of a sale once the law is in effect could trigger a 90-day respite for TikTok.

During arguments, the justices were told by a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance, the Chinese technology company that is its parent, how difficult it would be to consummate a deal, especially since Chinese law restricts the sale of the proprietary algorithm that has made the social media platform wildly successful.

The app allows users to watch hundreds of videos in about half an hour because some are only a few seconds long, according to a lawsuit filed last year by the state of Kentucky complaining that TikTok is designed to be addictive and harms children’s mental health.

Similar suits were filed by more than a dozen US states. TikTok has called the claims inaccurate.

The dispute over TikTok’s ties to China has come to embody the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing.

People want to keep TikTok
The app is popular with young people in America (AP)

The US has said it is concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.

Officials have also warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

TikTok points out the US has not presented evidence that China has attempted to manipulate content on its US platform or gather American user data through TikTok.

Bipartisan majorities in Congress passed legislation, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in April. The law was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over TikTok, which the US government sees as a national security threat.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

displaced Gazans walking toward Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops withdraw from key militarised corridor that splits Gaza in two as part of ceasefire deal

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday afternoon.

Mysterious death of British couple in French villa suspected murder-suicide as investigators consider new theories

David Schwimmer has called for Elon Musk to ban Kanye West from X

Friends star David Schwimmer calls for Kanye West to be banned from X over 'hate-filled, ignorant' remarks

The NTSB recovers the debris of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk involved in a mid-air collision near DCA in Arlington, VA.

All major parts of DC plane and Black Hawk helicopter involved in mid-air collision recovered, investigators confirm

A Thai hostage who was freed from Hamas, Pongsak Thaenna, hugs a relative upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport

'We never gave up hope': Freed Thai hostages in tears of joy as they reunite with families after more than a year

'Make Europe Great Again' Rally In Madrid

'Make Europe Great Again': Far-right European political leaders praise Trump at Madrid meeting

Freed Palestinian prisoners are greeted by a crowd as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Emotional scenes in West Bank and Gaza as Palestinians reunited with their families after release from Israeli prisons

Israeli hostage reunited with his family.

Emotional moment Israeli hostages reunite with families after being paraded on stage by Hamas

Police officers hold back protesters trying to block the road at the rally.

Protesters clash with police as thousands rally outside proposed site for new Chinese ‘mega-embassy’ in London

Hollyoaks star and country singer thought to be son of British couple shot dead in French villa ‘by UK gangsters’

Hollyoaks star breaks silence over death of mum found dead in French villa with her husband

The Government has ordered Apple to allow it to access encrypted files uploaded to the cloud by any Apple user worldwide, it has been reported.

UK Government orders Apple to give it access to users’ encrypted data in 'unprecedented attack on privacy'

The wreckage of the small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska has been found

Missing Alaska Bering Air plane found with all 10 people on board confirmed dead

Hollyoaks star and country singer thought to be son of British couple shot dead in French villa ‘by UK gangsters’

Hollyoaks star and country singer thought to be son of British couple shot dead in French villa ‘by UK gangsters’

Israeli hostages Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami have been released

'We won't gloss over the shocking scenes', warns Netanyahu as three freed by Hamas paraded on stage

Harry and Meghan at the 2023 Invictus Games

Meghan to join Prince Harry at Invictus Games in Canada

President Trump Hosts Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba At The White House

Donald Trump slams brakes on some China tariffs in third trade war U-turn