- By Prateek Levi
- Wed, 15 Jan 2025 01:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
TikTok Ban in US: There has been growing concern and speculation over what the future holds for TikTok in the US, as the SCOTUS prepares to give its verdict on the constitutional validity of the law that is meant to shut down the social media platform which has approximately 170 million users in the country.
The apex court has taken an account of oral arguments over the law on January 10 and it seems that the court is inclined towards upholding the law, as per reports. If the law is upheld, ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, could avoid a nationwide ban by selling its US operations to a company not owned by China. However, this task is challenging, as the sale must be completed by January 19, 2025.
Let's take a detailed look at what is the law that has put TikTok on the line. Will it hold up in court? And how will the implementation of the ban take place for the platform?
What legal framework is responsible for the TikTok ban?
The law is partially a result of the perceived threat from China to the country's national security. The Biden Administration and US lawmakers are concerned that the Chinese Government could demand US users data from ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, under its national security laws. The main concern is that China could use this data and its leverage to put Americans under surveillance and push its propaganda by making changes to the algorithm of the video-sharing app.
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A month later, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) into law, following its passage by the US Congress with significant bipartisan backing.
The law grants the US federal government the authority to ban any foreign-owned apps considered a threat to national security.
However, the provisions under the law did not put TikTok directly under the scanner. The law was actually concerned with the legislation of intermediaries like Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, the platforms where the apps are actually available for download, and cloud service providers like Oracle as well.
Under the PAFACA, it is prohibited for marketplace entities and internet hosting services to "distribute, maintain, or update (or enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of) a foreign adversary controlled application."
It must be noted that under the law it is not illegal for individual users in the US to access TikTok.
Although, it was held by a lower court that the law has constitutional validity. Following this TikTok moved to the Supreme Court seeking a provisional injunction in order to put the law on hold on a temporary basis.
On January 10 in court, attorneys for TikTok and its users argued that the concerns over possible information manipulation by the Chinese government did not provide enough justification for the law. “The government just doesn’t get to say ‘national security’ and the case is over […] It’s not enough to say ‘national security’ — you have to say ‘what is the real harm?’” Jeffrey Fisher, who represents TikTok users, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
On the other hand, the Biden Administration defended the validity of the law and expressed that the law allows for unrestricted speech on TikTok once the platform is free from foreign influence and control.
“TikTok, if it were able to do so, could use precisely the same algorithm to display the same content by the same users. All the act is doing is trying to surgically remove the ability of a foreign adversary nation to get our data and to be able to exercise control over the platform,” US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stated.
All nine Supreme Court justices reportedly seemed more doubtful of TikTok's First Amendment arguments than the government's position on the law. “The law doesn’t say TikTok has to shut down. It says ByteDance has to divest,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett was quoted as saying by Axios.
According to the New York Times, the Supreme Court is expected to deliver a verdict in the case this week.
What would the TikTok ban mean?
If the Supreme Court upholds the validity of the law and ByteDance falls short of divesting TikTok, the immensely popular app will not be available for download on iOS and Android devices.
As far as users in the US are concerned who already have the app on their devices, the app won't just vanish in the blink of an eye. Rather it will be hard to access the app as it will become slower and buggy.
Another possibility is that whoever tries to access the app after January 19, a prompt will appear saying that the app is no longer available in the country. This is the same as what Indian users have seen since the time the central government banned TikTok in 2020, after an escalated series of border tensions with China that culminated in deadly violence.
As workarounds like ‘sideloading’ or using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) circulate on social media, a potential TikTok ban is likely to result in new apps (such as RedNote) and established platforms (like Instagram) competing for its displaced users.
Can Trump Save TikTok from the ban?
The Supreme Court's ruling is expected to leave TikTok hoping for intervention from US President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn into office a day after the deadline, on January 20.
Trump has shown ambiguity in his position on banning TikTok. He led the initial push to ban the app in 2020 through an executive order, which was subsequently overturned by several federal courts.
However, since then Trump has been defending the platform. Trump's lawyers had recommended to the Supreme Court last month, to put the TikTok ban on hold for some time so that the incoming president would have some time to “resolve the dispute through political means.”
After Trump takes office, he could push the US Congress to take back the divest-or-ban law, or he could instruct the Department of Justice not to enforce the legislation. Legal experts have pointed out that Trump could "just declare" TikTok's compliance with the law after taking certain steps.