The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the law banning TikTok in the United States starting January 19 , rejecting the company's appeal to strike down the rule in the name of freedom of expression.
The Court ruled that Congress's act requiring China's ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 to avoid the app being banned in the United States was legitimate. The law was passed by a large bipartisan majority in the name of national security .
The decision by the experts opens the way to a possible ban on the platform, which boasts 170 million users in the US , starting on Sunday, the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration.
There have been rumors swirling over the past few weeks about the future of TikTok, including a possible sale of the app to Elon Musk. One possible way to keep TikTok afloat is through an executive order from Trump that allows it to remain active while new buyers are sought .
Joe Biden has already said he will not enforce the ban, which goes into effect Sunday, a day before he leaves office , and will leave the matter to his successor. “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. “Given the sheer timing of this, this administration recognizes that the actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday .”
Trump, who once called for the app to be banned, has pledged to save it after praising it for strengthening his appeal among young people during the campaign . He also spoke about this today in a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Asked about the matter in the evening, he simply said: "The decision is up to me, you'll see what I'll do."
(Unioneonline/L)
