The US Supreme Court has decided to consider arguments over whether the law that would lead to the blocking of TikTok violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution. According to The Verge, a hearing is scheduled for January 10, just days before the date when the ban on the popular app could go into effect.
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For TikTok, this Supreme Court decision was a small but definite success, as it gives the company a chance to avoid a complete ban in the United States. However, the outcome of the case remains unclear unless the court overturns or suspends the law, or parent company ByteDance agrees to sell TikTok in due course. The controversial Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act aims to ban ownership of apps like TikTok and other companies on the list of countries designated as foreign adversaries.
The U.S. Department of Justice previously successfully argued the law’s constitutionality before the D.C. Court of Appeals. Agency officials argued that the law was necessary to protect national security from foreign influence. Congress also overwhelmingly backed the bill after closed-door briefings in which intelligence agencies raised concerns about the app being used by Chinese authorities to influence American users or access their data. However, the government has not yet provided public evidence of such threats.
The Supreme Court hearing will combine two lawsuits – one brought by TikTok, the other brought by a group of content creators on the platform. The parties will have two hours to consider the arguments. At the same time, the court has so far refused to make a decision to suspend the law pending a hearing, despite a corresponding request from the company’s lawyers. Previously, the lower court also refused to freeze the law.
TikTok filed an emergency request to overturn the law just two days ago. That same day, company CEO Shou Zi Chew was scheduled to meet with Donald Trump at his private residence at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. It’s worth noting that Trump, who heavily used TikTok on the campaign trail, has previously hinted at the possibility of keeping the app, although his recent statements leave that question in limbo. The ban expires the day before Trump’s inauguration, and the president has the option to extend it by 90 days.