The US Supreme Court has upheld a law banning TikTok from the US unless China-based parent company ByteDance sells the platform this Sunday.
TikTok challenged the law, saying it would violate free speech protections for the more than 170 million users it says it has in the US.
But that argument was unanimously rejected by the country’s highest court, meaning that TikTok must now find an authorized buyer for the US version of the app or face removal from app stores and web hosting services.
The White House said it will fall to the administration of incoming President Donald Trump, which takes office on Monday, to maintain the law. Trump vowed to make a decision “in the not too distant future”.
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, who is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony of Trump and other high-ranking guests, said he wants to thank the incoming president for his commitment to work with this program and keep it available in the US.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to block the video-sharing app last year, over concerns about its links to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly said it does not share data with Beijing.
Passed in April last year, the law allows TikTok owner ByteDance until January 19, 2025 to sell the US version of the platform to a neutral party to avoid an outright ban.
It could mean that from Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer be able to offer the app to new users or provide any security updates to current users – which could be fatal in the end.
ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and said it plans to shut down the app’s operations in the US on Sunday unless there is relief.
The Supreme Court ruled without any dissenting opinion that the law did not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protecting freedom of speech.
The justices upheld the lower court’s decision which was in line with the law after a challenge by ByteDance.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a unique and expansive space for expression, means of communication and a source of community,” the Supreme Court said.
“But Congress determined that the divestiture was necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relations with a foreign adversary.”
‘Stay tuned!’
After the Supreme Court’s decision, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months: “TikTok should always be available to the American people, but under American ownership or other ownership that speaks to the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law .”
But because of the “absolute truth of the moment”, he added, the president “actions to implement the law should fall to the next administration, which will start working on Monday”.
On Friday, Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social: “The decision of the Supreme Court was expected, and everyone must respect it.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the near future, but I should have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
He also revealed that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok, among other issues.
In December Trump said he had a “warm spot” for the app as it helped him with younger voters in the 2024 election.
Trump’s comments mark a shift in his stance during his first term as president when he intends to make the same prohibition through executive order.
‘I was homeless before TikTok’
Content creators, who have been sending farewell messages to their fans ahead of the impending ban, have been speaking to the BBC about how it could affect their lives.
“I went from being a waiter to having a house and it all started with TikTok,” said Drew Talbert, who has over five million followers.
Kalani Smith has more than three million followers and calls the ban “a slap in the face”.
“Before TikTok I was homeless and living in the back of my car. Using TikTok got me to where I am now,” he said.
“Everyone is praying for some kind of miracle – it feels like the government has turned its back on us.”
Kelley Heyer, who invented the Apple Dance to Charli XCX’s song, says: “The government taking over TikTok is actually the government taking away jobs from millions of people.”
The ‘strong stance’ of free speech
The ban comes at a time of heightened concern in the US about Chinese espionage.
Cybersecurity firms have suggested that the app is able to collect user data beyond what they watch on TikTok.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said sovereign states should not have “unfettered access” to Americans’ data and that the decision prevented China from “arming TikTok to undermine US national security”.
China passed a law in 2017 forcing Chinese citizens living abroad to cooperate with its intelligence services.
But Beijing has denied that it pressures companies to collect data on its behalf and criticized the ban. TikTok has repeatedly insisted that it has not been asked for its data.
The app argued that the law threatened freedom of expression and would affect its users, advertisers, content creators and employees. TikTok has 7,000 US employees.
Noel Francisco, a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance, told the Supreme Court during arguments that the app is “one of the most popular speech platforms in America”, and said the law would require it to be “dark” unless ByteDance sells the app.
Posting on TikTok after the decision, the app’s CEO said: “This is a strong First Amendment move and resists illegal censorship.
“We are grateful and happy for the president’s support [Trump] who really understands our platform.”
Kelly HeyerHow did we get here?
24 April 2024: Biden signs the bipartisan TikTok bill, which gave the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell its controlling stake or be banned from the US.
7 May 2024: TikTok is filing a lawsuit that aims to block the law, calling it an “extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights”.
2 August 2024: The US government is suing TikTok, accusing the social media company of illegally collecting children’s information and failing to respond when parents try to delete their children’s accounts.
6 December 2024: TikTok’s bid to overturn a law that would see it banned or sold in the US from early 2025 has been rejected by a federal appeals court.
27 December 2024: President-elect Donald Trump is asking the US Supreme Court to delay the upcoming ban while he works on a “political decision”.
10 January 2025: Nine Supreme Court justices heard from lawyers representing TikTok and content creators that the ban would be a violation of free speech protections for the platform’s more than 170 million users in the US.
17 January 2025: The US Supreme Court is upholding a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok within days due to national security concerns.
19 January 2025: The deadline for TikTok to sell its US stake or face a ban. TikTok has announced that it will “go dark” on this day.
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