A TikTok ban is set to go ahead on Sunday, January 19, after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal.
The hugely popular social media platform’s appeal to the Supreme Court was unanimously struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court after scepticism of TikTok’s First Amendment challenge.
The nine justices acknowledged that data collection and analysis is a common practice in the digital age, but added: “TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”
As a result, without political intervention, TikTok is set to go dark on Sunday. In a statement, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden’s position on TikTok is that it should be available in the U.S. but under American ownership. But given the timing, the actions to implement the law will fall to President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Trump will be sworn into office on Monday.
Developing…
Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Sayem is a freelancer based in the UK, covering tech & hardware. You can get in touch with him at @sayem.zone on Bluesky.
