The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a national ban on TikTok – a Chinese-owned social media platform for users to create, share and discover short videos produced across the globe.
In the unanimous decision issued Friday, Jan. 17, according to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, justices ruled the platform could compromise national security.
Nationwide, around 170 million Americans use the app – particularly younger generations. The ban and subsequent ruling comes after TikTok argued its right to exist in the U.S. under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Instead, in the language of the ruling, the court determined the company’s First Amendment rights have not been violated.
“After first concluding that the (law) was subject to heightened scrutiny under the First Amendment, the court assumed without deciding that strict, rather than intermediate, scrutiny applied,” the Supreme Court’s ruling states.
U.S. Supreme Court Justices also affirmed that the platform, in its entirety, poses national security threats that potentially outweigh issues of free speech. Therefore, the justices ruled, Congress maintains the right to force the company to either sell or shutdown.
“There is no doubt that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement and source of community,” the decision stated. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
As it stands, TikTok is set to be banned Sunday, Jan. 19, though President-elect Donald Trump has openly floated the notion of issuing an executive order that could keep the company running in the U.S.
