The company that owns TikTok is headed to the US Supreme Court on Friday to try to defend itself against a new law that would ban the wildly popular social media app later this month.
The law would bar companies like Apple and Google from making TikTok available to users in the United States unless China-based parent company ByteDance sells it.
The ban is set to take effect on January 19, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration as president.
The US Supreme Court is hearing ByteDance’s latest attempt to have the ban thrown out as unconstitutional.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why do US lawmakers want to ban TikTok?
The US government sees Chinese ownership of TikTok as a “serious national security threat” because the Chinese government has the power to force ByteDance to hand over user data and because of fears that China could use TikTok’s powerful algorithm to spread disinformation.
“TikTok’s collection of sensitive data on 170 million Americans and their contacts makes it a powerful tool for espionage, and TikTok’s role as a key communication channel makes it a powerful weapon for covert influence operations,” wrote US Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar ua government summary to the court.
The government claims the law is not intended to limit users’ free speech, but instead aims to end a foreign adversary’s control over TikTok.
How would the ban work?
The the bill would ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance fails to release its ownership of the app and sell it to a non-Chinese company by January 19.
It is illegal for anyone to “distribute, maintain or update” the app in the US and carries the threat of hefty fines of up to $5,000 per user against anyone who breaks the law.
This means that it would not immediately affect anyone who had already downloaded TikTok, but app stores would no longer be allowed to carry TikTok in the US, and users would not be able to get updates or newer versions of the app.
Congress passed the law last year with strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, ahead of President Joe Biden. signed into the law.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. However, the bill is likely to face a roadblock in the Senate.
What will the Supreme Court case depend on?
The case presents a conflict between two fundamental principles of American law: the First Amendment right to free speech versus the government’s authority to decide matters of national security, said Gus Hurwitz, academic director of the Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition at USAID. Carey Law School of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Hurwitz said ByteDance’s position is that the intended effect of the law is to prevent the company from talking to Americans.
“The company is making a pretty simple First Amendment-style argument here, that they are a speech platform, that they are in many ways no different than a newspaper, a magazine, any other website,” Hurwitz said in an interview with CBC News.
Freddy Tran Nager, associate director of the digital social media program at the University of Southern California, Annenberg, said ByteDance’s argument is “a little thin.”
“This bill does not ban TikTok based on its content,” Nager said in an interview. “The concern is about the privacy of data, particularly the data of American citizens.”
Can the US legally force a change of ownership on TikTok?
The US has a long history of limiting foreign ownership of broadcasters such as radio stations and television networks, but limiting ownership of social media platforms is a new frontier.
Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, DC, described the bill as unprecedented.
“Banning an entire speech platform within the United States is a constitutional violation of the highest order,” Ruane said in an interview.
“It prevents TikTok’s 170 million users from using their medium of choice to communicate online in ways that have nothing to do with the government’s expressed concerns,” she said.
The ban could be avoided if ByteDance begins negotiations to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner, but the company has given no indication that this is happening.
TikTok is suing the US government over a law that would ban the Chinese-owned app unless it is sold to another company. Andrew Chang breaks down TikTok’s legal argument and why he says his First Amendment rights are being violated.
What is the deadline for passing judgment?
The Supreme Court agreed with art expedited hearing case, considering the date of implementation of the law approaching January 19.
“I expect that if the court sides with TikTok, we’ll hear very soon,” possibly next week, Hurwitz said. “If an injunction is not issued immediately … I would interpret that silence to mean with a high degree of certainty that the court will rule against TikTok.”
What happens when Donald Trump takes office?
Trump’s inauguration will take place on January 20, the day after the ban is due to take effect. After favoring a ban on TikTok during his first term, he is changed the tune. Trump now wants the law stopped, and his lawyers have filed a motion “friend of the court” short on his behalf ahead of Friday’s hearing.
“President Trump opposes a ban on TikTok in the United States at this time and is looking to resolve the issue through political means once he takes office,” the summary said.
Nager said he doubts the new Trump administration “would like to have TikTok as part of a larger negotiating package.” [with China]be it tariffs or other imports or other military agreements.”
Trump could issue an executive order delaying the law’s implementation, Hurwitz said, but added that in the long term, the new president is unlikely to spend political capital trying to overturn the law when so many Republican lawmakers are staunchly opposed to Chinese ownership of the app.
Would Canada be affected?
TikTok’s distribution ban only applies to US entities
Separately, the federal government ordered TikTok in November ceases its operations in Canada, but does not limit the app’s availability.
