LifestyleSupreme court upholds TikTok ban, potential shutdown looms

Supreme court upholds TikTok ban, potential shutdown looms

The Supreme Court has upheld a new law that would ban the popular social media platform TikTok, setting the stage for the app’s potential shutdown in the U.S. as early as Sunday.The unanimous ruling reinforced the lower court’s decision, asserting that the law does not infringe on TikTok users’ First Amendment rights.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch provided separate opinions, adding depth to the unanimous verdict. The court emphasized that the law addresses “an important government interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression,” aiming to curtail China’s potential access to personal data from U.S. TikTok users.

The impending law, part of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was passed with bipartisan support last April. It mandates that TikTok divest from its parent company, ByteDance, or face exclusion from U.S. app stores and hosting services starting January 19. President-elect Donald Trump, due to be sworn in on January 20, had previously urged the court to delay the law’s implementation to seek a political solution.Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, the immediate future of TikTok access for users after Sunday’s deadline remains uncertain. Reports from Reuters indicate that TikTok plans to shut down the platform for U.S. users, replacing app access with a pop-up message about the new law.As TikTok’s deadline approaches, users have started downloading their content and moving to other platforms, like the Chinese-owned RedNote. The Biden administration has stated it will not enforce the new law until after the presidential transition, leaving its immediate implementation to the incoming Trump administration.The new law targets app stores and internet hosting services, threatening them with fines up to $5,000 per user, a significant liability given TikTok’s popularity. The president can delay the ban for up to 90 days under specific conditions, including substantial progress toward TikTok’s divestiture from ByteDance.Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) cited national security risks in blocking a unanimous Senate vote for an extension proposed by Democrat Senator Ed Markey. 
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), advocating for an extension, stated, “It’s clear that more time is needed. We will continue to work to find a responsible solution to keeping TikTok going, protect American livelihoods, and protect against Communist Chinese Communist Party surveillance. We must and can do all three.”

Source: Washington Informer

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