The future of TikTok in the U.S. is now in the Supreme Court’s hands.
TikTok has filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to block a law that requires ByteDance, the app’s Chinese-parent company, to sell its U.S. operations or be banned from tech platforms.
In a last-ditch effort, TikTok has asked the Court to temporarily halt the law’s implementation while broader constitutional issues are considered, namely national security concerns and free speech. The Court could grant a stay, allowing TikTok to continue operations during its review, or reject the appeal, which would put the ban into effect as planned, currently slated for Jan. 19.
“A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” TikTok’s legal team argued in its petition.
This is TikTok’s third attempt to block the law, which passed Congress in April. Congress says the law is necessary to protect national security, alleging that TikTok could be used for surveillance or propaganda by the Chinese government. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chou has denied these claims, repeatedly stating the app is “not an agent of China or any other country.”
TikTok also claims the ban violates the First Amendment, citing its 170 million U.S. users as evidence of the app’s role in communication.
TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to rule on the appeal by Jan. 6. If the request is denied, TikTok’s attorneys have said they would need time “to coordinate with their service providers to perform the complex task of shutting down the TikTok platform only in the United States.”
Meanwhile, leaders of a U.S. House committee on China have warned Apple and Google’s parent-company Alphabet to be ready to remove TikTok from app stores if the law takes effect on Jan. 19.
