Supreme Court Says ‘Fuck You Kids’ Will Let Feds Ban TikTok

US Supreme Court will allow the federal government to ban TikTok if the popular video-sharing app doesn’t find someone to sell to.

President-elect Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay implementation of the law. He declined, and there is no obvious buyer for TikTok. If nothing changes, the ban will begin on Sunday, the day before Trump’s inauguration. Biden said he would not enforce the ban and will allow Trump to deal with the problem.

How did we get here? TikTok is owned by China-based company ByteDance, and lawmakers have successfully argued over the past few years that it feeds vast amounts of American data into servers owned by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2024 A bipartisan bill was passed that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok or ban it from US shores.

ByteDance fought the decision all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing that the sale violated the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans. It was an argument that the Supreme Court did not find persuasive.

“There is no doubt that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and broad outlet for expression, a means of engagement, and a source of community,” the ruling said. “But Congress determined that the sale was necessary to address well-supported national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.” For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”

In his concurrence, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch lamented the court’s time constraints on the decision and questioned its ultimate effectiveness. “I don’t know if this law will succeed in achieving its goals,” he wrote. “A determined foreign adversary may simply seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another.” As time passes and threats evolve, less dramatic and more effective solutions may emerge. Even what might happen to TikTok remains unclear.”

People have already moved to the other apps. Xiaohongshu or RedNote, another China-based video app has gained popularity while the court hears the case. Thousands of Americans flocked to the app, and there was a cross-pollination of people in China and the US that we’ve never seen before. Americans are already training Chinese users how to create 3D printed weapons. Chinese consumers are teaching Americans that their views of China may be skewed.

But what will happen in the future or what other applications will appear is not the court’s concern. “The question before us today is not the wisdom of the law, but only its constitutionality,” Gorsuch said. “With only a few days left in oral argument to issue an opinion, I cannot express the degree of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and the record before us. All I can say is that at this point and under these limitations, the problem seems real and the answer to it is not unconstitutional. To speak with and for a foreign adversary is one thing. Allowing a foreign adversary to spy on Americans is another.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to attend Trump events this weekend as well as the inauguration. What will happen now is anyone’s guess.