TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have appealed to the US Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to prevent the implementation of a law that would force ByteDance to divest from TikTok by January 19 or face a nationwide ban.
The app, used by approximately 170 million Americans, faces allegations from the US government of posing a national security threat due to its data collection capabilities and potential for content manipulation by a Chinese entity.
TikTok estimates the ban could result in over $1 billion in lost revenue for small businesses and nearly $300 million in lost earnings for creators in just one month. In their Supreme Court filing, TikTok and ByteDance argued that the law infringes on the First Amendment, stating: “If Americans, duly informed of the alleged risks of ‘covert’ content manipulation, choose to continue viewing content on TikTok with their eyes wide open, the First Amendment entrusts them with making that choice, free from the government’s censorship.” They warned that upholding the law could set a precedent allowing Congress to ban other platforms under similar pretenses.
TikTok maintains there is no imminent threat to US national security and asserts that delaying enforcement would provide time for the Supreme Court to review the case and the incoming Trump administration to evaluate the law. President-elect Donald Trump, who previously attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, has since reversed his stance and vowed to protect the app.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected TikTok’s arguments earlier in December, asserting that the law protects free speech by limiting foreign adversaries’ ability to exploit data and influence US users. TikTok countered, calling itself one of the nation’s “most important speech platforms” and accusing lawmakers of speculative concerns. A TikTok spokesperson, Michael Hughes, emphasised: “We are asking the court to do what it has traditionally done in free speech cases: apply the most rigorous scrutiny to speech bans and conclude that it violates the First Amendment.”
Why is this important?
If the law is upheld, TikTok would be barred from app stores like those operated by Apple and Google, effectively halting its availability in the US unless ByteDance complies with the divestment requirement. TikTok has warned that even a temporary ban would cause it to lose a third of its US users and severely damage its business model.