Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Sell-or-Ban Law
Biden leaves TikTok’s fate to Trump as the divestiture deadline approaches Sunday.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2025 – The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law Friday requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations by Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, or face an outright ban.
In its opinion in TikTok v. Garland, the Court rejected TikTok’s First Amendment challenge. While the Court assumed the action could burden expressive activity and applied heightened scrutiny, it upheld the ban as constitutional, concluding that the compelling national security interest in countering China's data collection and influence justified the minimal restrictions imposed on free expression.
The TikTok ban stems from a law President Joe Biden signed last year, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The law targets foreign-owned platforms deemed threats to U.S. national security, although ByteDance’s TikTok is the only app currently subject to its provisions.
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The decision placed the issue squarely on the desk of Donald Trump, who is set to take office on Monday. Biden has effectively left the enforcement mechanics to his successor. In a post to Truth Social, Trump acknowledged the Court’s ruling but deferred action, stating, “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future.”
As the incoming President, Trump has the authority to grant a 90-day extension for compliance. Still, if ByteDance fails to divest TikTok's U.S. operations by Sunday, the company will face immediate penalties, the Court’s ruling stated.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., released a joint statement praising the ruling as a critical step toward protecting U.S. citizens and infrastructure.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms what Congress has been saying all along to ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party: divest or face a ban,” their statement read. “This is a sober, but important, step toward safeguarding our national security.
On the other hand, Public Knowledge, issued a statement Friday warning that the decision sets a “dangerous precedent” for free speech. The advocacy group had previously filed an amicus brief urging the Court to apply strict scrutiny and strike down the law over its infringement on the First Amendment.
"By accepting the government's broad national security claims without requiring it to pursue less restrictive alternatives, the Court has given future administrations a roadmap to shut down any foreign-affiliated platform or media company they disfavor," said Morgan Wilsmann, a policy analyst at Public Knowledge.
Critics argue that the decision could exacerbate the concentration of power among U.S. tech giants. Public Knowledge warned against potential acquisitions of TikTok by dominant players like Meta or X, highlighting risks of further social media consolidation. The group also pointed to the failure of lawmakers to pass comprehensive data privacy legislation, which they argue would address national security issues without resorting to bans.
Meanwhile, TikTok users are flocking to alternative platforms like RedNote, another China-affiliated app, raising concerns that the ban may do little to address underlying security vulnerabilities.
ByteDance has until Sunday to decide whether to divest or exit the U.S. market. Without action, 170 million American users will start to lose access to the popular platform.
