On March 12, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, the United States, Tik Tok creators gathered in front of a press conference to express their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Controlled Applications Act”, which is pending in the House of Representatives against TikTok. Fight against legislation.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
On Friday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case involving TikTok’s future in the United States that could ban the popular app as early as next week.
The justices will consider whether the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which bans TikTok and imposes stiff civil penalties on app “entities” that continue to offer the service after January 19, violates The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech.
It’s unclear when the court will rule, and China’s ByteDance faces a sweeping nationwide ban if it continues to refuse to spin off TikTok to a U.S. company.
How will the user experience change?
The approximately 115 million monthly active TikTok users in the United States could face a range of scenarios, depending on when the Supreme Court rules.
If there’s no news before the law takes effect on January 19 and the ban goes into effect, users may still be able to publish or interact with the app (if they’ve already downloaded it). However, multiple legal experts said those users may not be able to update or re-download the app after that date.
Thousands of short-form video creators who make money from TikTok through advertising revenue, paid partnerships, merchandise and more may need to move their operations to other platforms such as YouTube or Instagram.
“Shutting down TikTok, even for a day, would be a big deal, not just for the people who create content on TikTok,” said George Wang, a staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. says, and is also true for anyone who shares or views the content.
“This sets a very dangerous precedent for how we regulate online speech,” Wang said.
Who supports and opposes the ban?
Dozens of high-profile amicus briefs have been filed in support of the administration and ByteDance from organizations, members of Congress and President-elect Donald Trump.
The government, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, claimed that before ByteDance divested TikTok, the app remained a “powerful tool for espionage” and a “potent weapon in covert influence operations.”
Trump’s briefing It did not express support for either side, but it did ask the court to oppose banning the platform and allow him to find a political solution that would allow the service to continue while addressing national security concerns.
The short-form video app has played a prominent role in the 2024 presidential campaign between Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and is one of the most common news sources for young voters.
In a September “Truth Social” post, Trump wrote in all caps that Americans who want to save TikTok should vote for him. This article was quoted in his amicus brief.
What happens next?
It’s unclear when the Supreme Court will rule, but the expedited hearing of the case has fueled speculation that the court could rule quickly.
Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said that because TikTok has such a large user base in the United States, the case will have a “huge impact.”
“It’s unprecedented for a government to ban a speech platform, especially one used by so many people,” Chemerinsky said. “Ultimately, it’s a tension between free speech issues and national security claims.”
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