Although it looked like there might be a delay of several months, it was not approved: TikTokwill be banned in the United States as of Sunday. The Supreme Court ruled on Friday to uphold a law that will effectively ban TikTok in America unless the platform severs ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance.
The ban is set to take effect on Sunday, just one day before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. The ruling reflects bipartisan concerns over national security risks tied to TikTok’s data collection practices and its relationship with a foreign adversary, specifically the Chinese government.
In its decision, the court acknowledged TikTok’s significance to millions of Americans as a platform for expression, creativity, and community. “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,” the ruling stated. However, the court emphasized that Congress had determined the platform’s divestiture was necessary to address well-supported national security concerns.
The ruling was unanimous, with concurring opinions from both liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch. The court aimed to limit the broader implications of its decision by clarifying that it should not be seen as a critique of common data collection practices used by social media companies.
“We emphasize the inherent narrowness of our holding,” the unsigned ruling noted. “Data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age. But 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.“
TikTok users face uncertain future
The Biden administration has indicated it will not enforce the ban immediately after the deadline, leaving its implementation to Trump. Interestingly, Trump has expressed opposition to the ban and stated he would seek to reverse it. On Friday morning, Trump revealed via Truth Social that he had discussed TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
TikTok, which boasts over 170 million U.S. users, challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, arguing that banning the platform would infringe upon its users’ free-expression rights. However, lower courts found merit in the government’s concerns about potential data misuse or content manipulation by China.
Even if the ban takes effect, TikTok may not disappear entirely. The law targets third-party services like app stores and cloud providers rather than forcing TikTok itself offline. Experts suggest that while TikTok could initially circumvent these restrictions, the app’s quality and functionality would likely degrade over time.