The final attempt by TikTok to avert a potential ban in the United States has been unsuccessful. On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously affirmed the legislation requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a prohibition in the country.
A significant uncertainty at this juncture relates to how the upcoming shift from the Biden administration to the Trump administration may influence the ban.
Updated January 17, 2025 at 10:51 am ET with a new statement from the Biden administration below.
In its decision on Friday, the Supreme Court remarked:
As of January 19, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will render it illegal for firms in the U.S. to provide services that distribute, maintain, or update TikTok unless the platform’s U.S. operations are separated from Chinese oversight. The petitioners are two operators of TikTok and a collective of U.S. TikTok users. We assess whether the Act, in its application to these petitioners, infringes upon the First Amendment.
The legislation in question did not directly prohibit TikTok but allowed the China-linked parent company ByteDance a nine-month period to divest TikTok. That deadline is set to expire this Sunday, in theory.
Additional factors are influencing the situation beyond the law itself. On Thursday, the Biden administration largely deferred the execution of the ban to the Trump administration, which will assume office on January 20.
“Our stance has been unequivocal: TikTok should remain operational under U.S. ownership,” a White House representative stated to ABC News. “Considering the timing of the law’s implementation over a holiday weekend just before inauguration, the next administration will have the discretion to execute it.”
Meanwhile, Trump requested the Supreme Court to postpone the law’s activation on January 19. In a brief submitted last week, the Trump team asserted that the president-elect “has the ultimate deal-making skills, the electoral backing, and the political resolve to negotiate a resolution that preserves the platform while addressing the national security apprehensions expressed by the Government.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling today indicates that the justices did not heed Trump’s appeal.
Another uncertainty is how major tech companies like Google and Apple will react to the ban starting January 19. Although the Biden administration may have shifted the responsibility of enforcing the ban to the incoming Trump administration, it will be Apple and Google who will need to comply with the ban effective January 19.
If the law is enacted as currently laid out, Apple and Google will be prohibited from listing TikTok in their respective app stores, the App Store and Play Store. Whether these companies will take the risk that the enforcement of the law could be postponed is yet to be determined.
The legislation, as drafted, merely requires the removal of the app from those app marketplaces. However, TikTok is expected to go a step further and completely suspend access to the service on January 19—even for users who already have the app installed on their devices.
Statement from Biden
Shortly after the Supreme Court made its announcement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released the following statement:
The Administration, much like the rest of the nation, has been awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling on TikTok. President Biden has maintained a clear position on TikTok for several months, especially since Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill regarding this issue: TikTok should continue to be accessible to Americans, but it must be under American ownership or another ownership structure that alleviates the national security issues identified by Congress during the law’s development.
Given the timing of this situation, this Administration acknowledges that the implementation of the law must fall to the upcoming Administration, which takes office on Monday.
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