The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by TikTok owner ByteDance for a law that could ban the app. The court took up the matter (via NBC News) unusually quickly – only two days after the company filed for review. Oral arguments are scheduled for January 10.
The law being challenged, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemy Controlled Applications Act, is expected to go into effect on January 19, the day before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The court did not temporarily block the law when it said it would handle the case.
The bill mandates that the app be banned if ByteDance does not sell the platform to an American company. It was passed with overwhelming support in Congress and signed by President Biden in April. The argument was that TikTok has become a national security issue.
The Justice Department has defended the law in lower courts, citing concerns that the Chinese government could influence the company and collect information on American citizens. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law earlier this month.
ByteDance said the law violates free speech rights, a position the ACLU supports. Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term but changed his tune during the 2024 Presidential campaign.
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