Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

Supreme Court Considers TikTok’s Bid to Remain in the US


Will TikTok really be banned in the US next week?

Time is running out for the app, which now only has a few days left to find a way to stay operational 170 million US users.

According to “The Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by a Foreign Enemy Act,” TikTok will be banned in the U.S. on January 19 unless it is sold to U.S. ownership, amid concerns about the app’s ties to the Chinese government and its capacity to be used to gather information and spread propaganda on behalf of the U.S. opponent.

TikTok’s first appeal to the bill was rejected by US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit at the beginning of last monthbut the US Supreme Court then agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal against the ruling, a process that began on Friday last week.

But early indications suggest that TikTok is unlikely to win a positive ruling in its second appeal.

According to Reuters:

The justices signaled with their questions during the hearings that they were inclined to uphold the law, although some expressed serious concerns about its First Amendment implications.

TikTok has argued that the bill violates the First Amendment, but since the case involves national security, that may not be applicable in this case. In that case, TikTok would be kicked out of the US by this time next week, meaning it would disappear from app stores and its functionality would it is gradually cut off.

So it won’t suddenly disappear from your device overnight, but it will essentially stop working, as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance will no longer be able to maintain and update the app. It will also disappear from the web, and for all intents and purposes, the app will essentially disappear over a period of time for US users.

The Supreme Court bid is therefore TikTok’s last chance to avoid a US ban, as it has seemingly taken no steps to sell the company to an American investor, and any other way to save the app is limited.

Future President Donald Trump hinted at that wants to save the applicationand Trump’s team filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to extend the deadline for any final decision so that it would happen after he is officially sworn in. But the extension has not been approved yet.

And even if approved, Trump’s avenues for appeal are also limited.

Legal experts say that Trump could pressure Congress to overturn the bill, although that would be a significant step, especially since the original proposal passed unanimously. Trump could also order the Justice Department not to enforce the law, which would mean Google and Apple would not face penalties if they do not remove the app from their app stores. But even that seems like a risky proposition and a shaky framework for TikTok to continue its business in the US.

A consortium of American investors has expressed interest in purchasing the applicationbut again, there was no indication that ByteDance had engaged this group, while the company also said the deadline was too short to stage a sale.

So, at this stage, it looks like TikTok will actually be banned in the US

There will be some issues this week, but the path to maintaining the app seems tenuous at best.

The decision of the Supreme Court is expected at the beginning of the week.





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *