The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, effectively banning the social network in the country starting Sunday, January 19. The New York Times reported that this decision was unanimous, 9-0.
The decision means that U.S. operations for the popular app must shut down this weekend to comply with a 2024 law that President Biden signed that forced the Chinese-based network from operating in the States.
The Court notes: “Congress has determined that divestiture (of TikTok) is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Last year, the Court heard from a TikTok lawyer who explained why the government shouldn’t be allowed to shut down the service. At the time, it seemed like most justices felt compelled to side with the government. A unanimous decision was unexpected.
Previously, NBC News reported that President Biden was exploring ways to keep TikTok online despite the ban, or at least delay the closure. Administration officials said that “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday. With the Supreme Court’s decision, the ball is firmly in Biden’s hands. The law allows the president to enact a 90-day extension of the ban’s deadline.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA – 2024) grants the President of the United States the authority to ban applications that pose national security risks, specifically targeting TikTok. When this law was signed last spring, it received broad bipartisan support. However, since then, some have questioned the law and are exploring ways to delay or save TikTok in the U.S.
One potential solution to circumvent the ban would be for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the company to an American entity. So far, no deal has been reached to facilitate this.
If Biden were to prevent the ban from taking effect on Sunday, it would then fall to President-elect Donald J. Trump, who takes office on Monday, to decide how to proceed. Trump has indicated a willingness to halt the ban in order to review all potential options.
Without an extension or sale, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. There are some potential ways around this, such as using a VPN to bypass the TikTok ban, and several TikTok alternatives have already sprung up, the most popular of which is RedNote.
