US Supreme Court upholds law to ban TikTok

US Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, which can lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States this Sunday.

“There is no question that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and extensive outlet for expression, a means of engagement, and a source of community,” the court’s unanimous opinion said. “But Congress decided the sale was necessary to address well-supported national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company reportedly plans to close the application for US users on Sunday, the extension deadline.

For more than five years, US government officials have tried to ban or force the sale of TikTok, accusing the Chinese company of sharing US user data with the Chinese government and full of pro-Chinese propaganda. Congress and agencies like the FBI haven’t released much information to the public to back up these claims, but they’ve used different methods to ban TikTok.

In 2020 former President Donald Trump first tried on TikTok by failed executive order. Ultimately, President Joe Biden signed a law on April 24, 2024 that required TikTok’s parent company, Byteance, to sell the app to an American owner by January 19 or be removed from US app stores. In a rush to prevent the ban, TikTok and a group of creators quickly filed lawsuits against the Justice Department, arguing that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign-Controlled Hostile Apps Act, violated their First Amendment rights.

In Friday’s oral arguments, TikTok attorney Noel Francisco and Jeffrey Fisher, who represents the creators, tried to make that argument. On behalf of the government, lead attorney Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the law does not infringe on the defendants’ free speech rights and instead separates the app from Bytedance and Chinese influence.

“Undoubtedly, the remedy that Congress and the President have chosen here is dramatic,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion. “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its goal, I do not know. 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.

The law allows Biden to extend the Jan. 19 deadline an additional 90 days while Bytedance is close to being sold. As of Wednesday, the Biden administration reportedly looking for ways to keep the app but hasn’t revealed anything publicly. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED on Friday. Several US-based financiers have lined up to buy the app, including former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Kevin O’Leary or Mr. Wonderful, of Shark tank glory, has signed McCourt’s proposal and recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

“We have a formal offer on the table with ByteDance. We are ready to work with the company and President Trump to complete a deal. Together, we can transition TikTok to a clean technology stack and turn this national security issue into a big win for Americans,” McCourt said in a statement responding to Friday’s decision.