TikTok could shut down unless Supreme Court blocks or delays US ban

In one of the most important cases of the social media era, free speech and national security collide before the Supreme Court on Friday in debates over the fate of TikTok, a wildly popular digital platform that about half of Americans use it for entertainment. and information.

TikTok could shut down the social media site in the United States by January 19, unless the Supreme Court strikes down or delays the effective date of a law aimed at forcing the sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent company.

“Absent such relief, the law will take effect on January 19, 2025,” TikTok said in a Dec. 9 legal filing. “It would shut down TikTok, one of the nation’s most popular voice platforms, for its more than 170 million monthly domestic users on the eve of the presidential inauguration.”

Working under a tight deadline, the justices are also hearing an appeal from President-elect Donald Trump, who backed away from his previous support for a ban, to give him and his new administration time to reach a “political resolution” and avoid deciding on the ban. case. It's unclear whether the court will consider the Republican president-elect's views — a highly unusual attempt to influence a case.

TikTok and China-based ByteDance, as well as content creators and users, say the law is a dramatic violation of the Constitution's guarantee of free speech.

“Rarely, if ever, has the court faced a free speech case that matters to so many people,” lawyers for the users and content creators wrote. Content creators are anxiously awaiting a decision that could upend their livelihoods and are turning to other platforms.

What a possible TikTok ban could mean for content creators and everyday users 04:15

This case represents another example of the court being asked to rule on a medium with which the judges have acknowledged they have little familiarity or expertise, although they often weigh in on important issues involving restrictions on the word.

How TikTok could avoid a ban

TikTok has several paths to avoid a ban outside of Supreme Court intervention, experts told CBS News.

Trump could act once in office and direct the Justice Department not to enforce the law or prosecute tech companies, like Apple and Google, that host TikTok in their app stores. Trump also has the authority to delay implementation of the law for 90 days after January 19, but he will have to certify to Congress that “evidence of significant progress” toward a divestment has occurred.

TikTok won't disappear from Americans' phones on January 19 if the law takes effect. However, users would not be able to update the app and those who do not already own it would not be able to download it.

The Biden administration, defending the law that President Joe Biden signed in April after it was approved by large bipartisan majorities in Congress, says that “no one can seriously dispute that (China's) control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a serious threat to national security. “

Officials say Chinese authorities can force ByteDance to provide information about TikTok's U.S. customers or use the platform to disseminate or remove information.

But the government “admits that it has no evidence that China ever attempted to do this,” TikTok told the judges, adding that limits on free speech should not be upheld when they arise from fears based on future risks.

In December, a panel of three appeals judges, two appointed by Republicans and one by a Democrat, unanimously upheld the law and rejected the First Amendment speech's claims.

Trump asks court to take a break

To add to the tension, the court hears proceedings just nine days before the law takes effect and ten days before a new administration takes office.

In language typically used in a campaign ad rather than a legal brief, Trump's lawyers called on the court to temporarily block the TikTok ban from taking effect, but to refrain from any final resolution.

“Only President Trump has the perfect negotiating expertise, electoral mandate and political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the administration – concerns that the President Trump himself has acknowledged this,” said D. John Sauer. , Trump's pick to be his administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, wrote in a legal brief filed with the court.

Trump took no position on the merits of the case, Sauer wrote. Trump's campaign team used TikTok to connect with young voters, particularly male voters, and Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, in Florida, in December. He has 14.7 million followers on TikTok.

The judges have set aside two hours for debate, and the session will likely extend well beyond that. Three highly experienced Supreme Court lawyers will present their arguments. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar will present the Biden administration's defense of the law, while Trump's solicitor general in his first administration, Noel Francisco, will argue on behalf of TikTok and ByteDance. Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, representing content creators and users, will make his 50th oral argument before the high court.

If the law goes into effect, Trump's Justice Department will be responsible for enforcing it. Lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance have argued that the new administration could seek to mitigate the law's most serious consequences.

But they also said a shutdown of just one month would cause TikTok to lose about a third of its daily U.S. users and significant advertising revenue.

When evaluating the case, the court will need to decide what level of review it will apply to the law. Under the most careful and strict scrutiny, laws almost always fail. But two appeals court judges who upheld the law said it would be the rare exception that could withstand strict scrutiny.

TikTok, the app's users, and numerous briefs supporting them are urging the court to exercise strict oversight to strike down the law.

But the Democratic administration and some of its supporters cite restrictions on foreign ownership of radio stations and other sectors of the economy to justify efforts to counter Chinese influence in banning TikTok.

A decision could be made within a few days.

Editor's note: This story has been edited to clarify that TikTok could shut down on Jan. 19 if the Supreme Court rules against its request for a temporary injunction that would overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban in the United States. United.

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