March 12, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., before a press conference to voice opposition to the Protecting Americans from Regulatory Applications by Foreign Enemies Act, a bill to crack down on TikTok pending in the House of Representatives. Tik Tok creators gather at.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Friday in a case regarding the future of TikTok in the United States, which could potentially ban the popular app as early as next week.
The justices ruled that the U.S. Protecting Americans from Regulated Apps by Foreign Enemies Act would target TikTok’s ban and impose stiff civil penalties on app entities that continue to offer the service after January 19. It will consider whether it violates the Constitution’s free speech protections.
It’s unclear when the court will rule, meaning China’s ByteDance could face a complete ban across the United States if it continues to refuse to sell TikTok to a U.S. company.
What will change about the user experience?
TikTok’s roughly 115 million monthly active users in the U.S. could face a variety of scenarios depending on when the Supreme Court rules.
Even if no action is taken by the time the law takes effect on January 19 and the ban is applied, users may still be able to post and interact with the app if they have already downloaded it. There is. However, legal experts said those users likely won’t be able to update or redownload the app after that date.
The thousands of short-form video creators who earn money from TikTok through ad revenue, paid partnerships, merchandise, etc. will likely need to move their business to other platforms like YouTube or Instagram.
“Shut down TikTok, even for a day, would be devastating not only for the people who create content on TikTok, but for everyone who shares and views that content,” Knight Constitution said. said George Wang, staff attorney at the First Amendment Institute. We cooperated with the Institute’s preparation of court documents regarding this case.
“This sets a very dangerous precedent for how to regulate online speech,” Wang said.
Who supports and opposes this ban?
Dozens of high-profile court briefs have been filed by organizations supporting both the government and ByteDance, members of Congress and President-elect Donald Trump.
The government, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, says that until ByteDance sells TikTok, the app will remain a “powerful tool for espionage” and a “powerful weapon for covert influence operations.” I am doing it.
President Trump’s brief It did not express support for either side, but authorized the court to oppose the platform’s ban and find a political solution that would allow the service to continue while addressing national security concerns. asked to do so.
The short-form video app has played a prominent role in the 2024 presidential campaigns of Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and has become one of the most popular news sources for young voters.
In a Truth Social post in September, President Trump wrote in all caps that Americans who want to save TikTok should vote for him. This post was cited in court briefs.
What comes next?
It is unclear when the Supreme Court will issue its decision, but some predict that the expedited hearing of the case could lead to a speedy decision by the court.
Berkeley Law Dean Irwin Chemerinsky said the lawsuit would have a “huge impact” because TikTok’s user base in the United States is so large.
“It is unprecedented for a government to ban a speech platform, especially one that is used by so many people,” Chemerinsky said. “Ultimately, this is a tension between free speech issues and national security claims.”
clock: Jim Cramer says it looks like TikTok may indeed be shut down
