SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TIKTOK BAN

The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal ban on TikTok may indeed take effect on Sunday (1/19), rejecting arguments from Chinese parent company ByteDance that it violated their First Amendment right to free speech.

The court's opinion was unsigned and included no dissents.

Signed in April, the law mandates a ban on new TikTok downloads on Apple or Google unless ByteDance sells it to a non-Chinese company. It also prohibits U.S. companies from providing services to enable the distribution, maintenance or updating of it.

The Biden administration has refused to step in, calling TikTok a "danger" to national security due to the Chinese government’s alleged involvement with ByteDance.

While calling TikTok “a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement and source of community," the court was swayed by what Congress determined to be "well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."

A last-minute reprieve could potentially come from President-elect Donald Trump, whose term begins 1/20. In an unusual twist, TikTok CEO Shou Chew will attend the inauguration with other tech company leaders.

Trump is said to be considering issuing an executive order to suspend enforcement of a shutdown for 60 to 90 days, although it's unclear how he would legally do so.

Chew wrote on TikTok that he'd keep working to “find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States. We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform—one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating over 60 billion views of his content in the process.”

If the ban does indeed go through, anyone trying to use the TikTok app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. Don't you wish they could do that to us?