Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Friday morning on whether social media platform TikTok should be required to split from its Chinese-owned parent company or be banned in the U.S., in a closely watched case that pits national security concerns against free speech protections .
It’s the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by a Foreign Enemy or Law Act Congress passed last April which gave TikTok nine months to either split from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be removed from US app stores and hosting services.
TikTok’s lawyers will argue that the law, which imposes a choice or forfeiture or ban, violates First Amendment protections. They will also argue that lawmakers did not consider less restrictive alternatives before moving to an outright ban.
Participants hold signs in support of TikTok outside the US Capitol building on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC, as lawmakers voted to pass a bill requiring TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance within nine months. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Biden administration, for its part, will argue that the law focuses solely on the company’s control of the app, which administration lawyers argue could pose “serious national security threats” to Americans, not its content.
Administration lawyers will also argue that Congress did not impose any restrictions on speechmuch less any restrictions based on viewpoint or content, and therefore does not meet the First Amendment’s test for violating free speech.
President-elect Donald Trump’s X account shown on a smartphone with the TikTok logo. (Photo by Avishek Das / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
The court’s decision could have major consequences for the approximately 170 million Americans who use the app.
The US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib))
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Judges agreed in December to hold an expedited hearing and will have just nine days to rule before the ban takes effect on January 19.
Oral arguments begin at 10 a.m. Stay here for live updates as the oral arguments unfold.
