The saga surrounding TikTok in the U.S. appears to be nearing its conclusion, with its last major glimmer of hope—a Supreme Court intervention—fading fast. As a result, a ban set for January 19 in the U.S. is becoming increasingly likely. Here’s the latest update.
Supreme Court seems unlikely to halt TikTok ban
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court spent over two hours discussing TikTok’s imminent ban.
General consensus among observers? The ban is expected to be supported.
Although the Supreme Court has yet to make a ruling, today’s hearing produced substantial insights suggesting that the ban may not be halted by the nation’s highest court.
As reported by Sam Baker at Axios:
Many justices focused on a key issue: The legislation could allow TikTok to function if it were to use an algorithm distinct from ByteDance’s. Furthermore, ByteDance, as a Chinese entity, lacks First Amendment protections.
According to Ann Marimow from The Washington Post:
Most justices seemed to acknowledge Congress’s national security worries regarding the potential for the Chinese government to obtain sensitive data from millions of American users and possibly use that information to coerce young Americans or recruit them as spies.
If the TikTok ban proceeds as planned, TikTok’s legal representative, Noel Francisco, stated during the hearing that the app ‘will go dark’ in the U.S. on January 19.
What follows is uncertain.
President-elect Trump has expressed intentions to reverse the ban, suggesting that after his inauguration on January 20, we might see some developments in that direction.
However, if no changes occur, TikTok’s presence in the U.S. may be drawing to a close soon.
What are your thoughts on the TikTok ban? Share your opinion in the comments.
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