WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court upheld on Friday a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell the short-video app by Sunday, as the justices in a 9-0 decision declined to rescue a platform used by about half of all Americans.

The justices ruled that the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden, did not violate the US constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech. The justices affirmed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the measure after it was challenged by TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users.

“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. 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 court said in the unsigned opinion.

The court added that “we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights”.

Judges rule that the law does not violate the constitution’s protection of free speech

A statement issued by the White House suggested that President Biden would not take any action to save TikTok before the law’s Sunday deadline for divestiture. Republican Donald Trump, who opposed a TikTok ban, succeeds Biden on Monday.

“The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,” Trump said in a social media post. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”

The court’s unanimity underscored the acceptance by the justices of the national security risks that Biden’s administration cited concerning TikTok, the court said, blunting apprehensions over free speech infringements.

“TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns,” the court said in the opinion.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement reiterated Biden’s position that “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”.

Given the timing, Jean-Pierre added, action to implement the law “must fall to the next administration”.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, seated among other high-profile invitees. TikTok plans to shut US operations of the app on Sunday barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter said.

Without a decision by Biden to formally invoke a 90-day delay in the deadline, companies providing services to TikTok or hosting the app could face legal liability. It is not immediately clear if TikTok’s business partners including Apple , Alphabet’s Google and Oracle will continue doing business with it before Trump is inaugurated. The uncertainty leaves open the possibility of a shutdown by TikTok on Sunday.

The law bars providing certain services to TikTok and other foreign adversary-controlled apps. including by offering it through app stores such as Apple and Google.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025