Supreme Court Hears TikTok Arguments With App's Ban Ahead: 'Essentially, The Platform Shuts Down'

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday in the case regarding legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States in nine days.

The Background: Last year, Congress passed a law requiring TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok or the app, which has about 170 million users in the U.S., will be banned in the United States. ByteDance filed a lawsuit to block the law and the case is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. 

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The Arguments: Noel Francisco, an attorney representing TikTok, opened the arguments by saying the law targets "speech itself" and that the court should temporarily halt the law "at a minimum."

“In short, this act should not stand,” Francisco said.

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned TikTok's ties to China and noted that Congress found that ByteDance cooperates with Chinese intelligence work and must comply with China’s laws.

“Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is in fact subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” Roberts asked.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended national security concerns related to data collection through the TikTok app and asked what will occur on the Jan. 19 deadline if the High Court does not act. 

Francisco replied that TikTok will "go dark" and "essentially, the platform shuts down." 

Francisco also acknowledged the possibility of a divestiture and potential intervention from President-elect Donald Trump

“Unless there’s a divestiture. Unless President Trump exercises his authority to extend it. But he can’t do that on Jan. 19. On Jan. 19, we still have President Biden, and on Jan. 19, as I understand it, we shut down,” Francisco said.

“It is possible that come Jan. 20, Jan. 21, 22nd, we might be in a different world. Again, that’s one of the reasons why that makes perfect sense to issue a preliminary injunction and buy everyone a little breathing space,” he added. 

Oral arguments in the case remain ongoing at the time of publication. 

Why It Matters: The case is viewed by many as a barometer for how the Supreme Court values issues of national security versus the constitutional right to free speech. 

Critics of the TikTok law say that it violates the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, while proponents of the law say that TikTok could be pressured by the Chinese government to influence users through the spread of disinformation. Some also say that China could pressure ByteDance to turn over private user data generated through the TikTok app. 

The case could have implications for other social media platforms, including Snap, Inc.'s SNAP Snapchat and Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, Inc. META which could benefit from a ban of TikTok. 

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