TikTok Faces Ban by Sunday After Supreme Court Rejects Appeal

A ban on TikTok is scheduled to take effect on Sunday, January 19, following the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision to reject the social media platform's appeal. The court expressed skepticism regarding TikTok's First Amendment challenge, emphasizing the platform's unique scale and potential for foreign control, along with its extensive data collection practices, as reasons justifying the ban due to national security concerns.

The Supreme Court's ruling stated, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns." This decision acknowledges the commonality of data collection in the digital age but highlights TikTok's distinct risks.

Without political intervention, TikTok is poised to go offline in the U.S. on Sunday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has stated that President Biden supports TikTok's availability in the U.S. under American ownership. However, the implementation of the ban will fall to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday.

The Supreme Court's decision further elaborated, "There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding 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."

Despite his previous opposition to a TikTok ban, Trump has indicated on Truth Social that he is in discussions with Chairman Xi Jinping about the issue. There is a possibility that Trump could issue an executive order to delay the ban's enforcement for 60 to 90 days upon taking office.

The question of whether China would agree to a full sale of TikTok to a Western buyer remains open, though reports suggest this could be an option. Elon Musk, involved with the incoming Trump administration, is reportedly being considered as a potential intermediary for interested Western buyers, or he might even attempt to purchase TikTok himself.

In the meantime, TikTok users have been migrating to the Chinese social media app Red Note (Xiaohongshu), which has seen a surge of over 700,000 new users in just two days, according to Reuters.

The future of TikTok in the U.S. hinges on finding a new buyer or facing a shutdown, unless an executive order from the Trump administration intervenes to alter the course of events.