Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
“Whether you call (the law) interference or restriction, one thing is clear: It’s a violation of TikTok’s speech, so the First Amendment applies,” TikTok’s lawyers argued to the US Supreme Court on Friday.
Today at the Supreme Court is the beginning of the end of TikTok’s long-running battle against the US government. The trial began at 10 a.m. ET and lasted more than two hours. At that time, TikTok’s lawyers and US Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar presented their opening arguments and answered questions from the Judges.
As in previous court cases, the US government said the popular television program could threaten national security and be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans. TikTok was steadfast in its denial of the allegations, saying that the 2024 bill – passed by a margin in both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President Biden – violates the First Amendment rights of TikTok’s 170 million US users. The lawsuit comes just nine days before the January 19 deadline to file for bankruptcy.
Check this out: US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
TikTok’s lawyer, Noel Francisco, initiated the lawsuit. The Justices asked a lot of questions to understand the relationship between TikTok US and its parent company from China – in particular, the risk of “disruption of confidential information” and what that means. For audio purposes, the term refers to the ability of political players to change TikTok’s algorithms to change the videos they see.
Another important point in the case was the confidential testimony provided by the United States government, which was not resolved in the lower courts. When the Justices asked Francisco, the Justice’s question confirmed that in this testimony, the US government “admits that it has no evidence that TikTok has committed fraud in this country,” but the two sides disagree as to whether ByteDance “has responded.” The PRC wants to monitor content outside of China. “
Prelogar concluded the case, saying in his opening statement, “TikTok’s massive amount of data gives the PRC a powerful tool for harassment, recruitment and espionage.” He said that it was not only users who were at risk, but also other people they interacted with, and expressed concern that especially teenagers and young children were at risk.
One of the most notable moments of the case was when Prelogar argued that ByteDance would use social media to stir up tension among the American people and distract them from China’s compromise, to which Chief Justice Roberts responded, “ByteDance may be, through TikTok, trying to gain. The American people that will they argue with each other?
What happens next with TikTok?
The next step is for the Court to deliberate and then decide the case. We do not know the exact time when it will issue its decision.
If the Supreme Court decides that the law violates the First Amendment, the Court can reject it. If the Supreme Court finds that the law does not violate the First Amendment and upholds it, TikTok will only have a few days left to find a US buyer for the program to comply with the deadline of January 19. ByteDance has said that it is ready to suspend the program in the US if the Court rules against them, while Francisco said that TikTok ” it will be dark” on January 19.
The January 19 deadline is the day before Trump’s inauguration. President-elect Trump recently indicated that he no longer opposes the ban on TikTok, a major shift from his stance during his first term. Last week, Trump’s lawyers wrote an amicus brief in the case. He did not take part, but instead asked the court to delay the ban to give Trump time to bring about a “political solution,” though the brief did not provide details on what that might look like. Either way, Trump won’t be able to do anything until he’s inaugurated as president on the 20th, so there may be some time for a shutdown.
