Supreme Court Rules on TikTok Ban

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by TikTok over its proposed ban, letting the restriction go into effect on January 19, 2025. Parent company ByteDance has faced countless challenges since the proposed ban was first announced, taking the case up through several court levels, but its efforts have been in vain. Unless TikTok sells to a U.S. owner, companies could face legal consequences for supporting or distributing the app in the country starting this week.

Congress first voted to ban TikTok in March 2024, with several states suing the app over child privacy concerns soon after. The company appealed the decision, claiming the ban violated the First Amendment, and the case eventually worked its way up to the Supreme Court. Now, just days before the restriction is set to take effect, the Supreme Court has agreed with previous rulings.

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The Supreme Court announced its unanimous decision on January 17, saying TikTok’s “susceptibility to foreign adversary control” makes it too big of a security risk to justify its value as a free speech platform. According to the court, it’s not strictly the app’s data collection that makes it a threat, but rather the fact it’s subject to Chinese law that could give the Chinese government access to said data. Many companies today collect information on their users, and security issues are common — Path of Exile 2’s developer confirmed a data breach as recently as January 6 — but the Supreme Court decision states TikTok’s case is unique. On top of collecting so much data on its users, the app is legally required to surrender it to Chinese authorities upon request, which the court sees as a potential threat to national security.

Supreme Court Upholds January 19 Ban on TikTok

While the Supreme Court’s decision is a landmark one, it’s not necessarily a surprise. Many users saw this coming, causing downloads of TikTok clone Rednote to skyrocket in the U.S. Interestingly, Rednote is also a Chinese-owned app, but the ban doesn’t name it or its parent company, so it may escape legal action, at least for the time being. Another TikTok alternative, Lemon8, is owned by ByteDance, so it may not be as lucky. Of course, the ban could also extend to Rednote if the app garners enough attention from U.S. users and regulators alike.

There is still a chance that TikTok’s U.S. operations could survive. President-elect Trump has reversed his stance on the app, so he may pause the ban through executive action. The company could also sell its U.S. operations to an American-owned business, although ByteDance has expressed hesitancy to do so in the past. If no such action takes place, the U.S. wouldn’t be the first country to restrict the app. In late 2024, Australia banned TikTok and other social media apps for children under 16. The incoming U.S. ban, though, would restrict it for all users, regardless of age.