The Supreme Court will decide whether or not TikTok will be banned in the U.S. unless it separates from parent company ByteDance, as justices announced Wednesday they will hear TikTok’s challenge to the federal law—scheduling oral arguments in January, right before the ban is slated to take effect.
TikTok supporters are seen outside the U.S. Capitol before the House passed the Protecting Americans ... [+]
The Supreme Court announced it will hear lawsuits brought by TikTok and creators on the app on January 10, days before the federal law is scheduled to take effect January 19.
TikTok and the creators asked the Supreme Court to pause the law from taking effect while it deliberated on the case, but the justices declined to do so yet, since they scheduled the case in time to rule before the law takes effect—meaning there’s no reason to pause it.
The court will specifically consider whether the law—which outlaws TikTok in the U.S. unless Chinese-owned ByteDance divests from it—violates the First Amendment.
TikTok and the creators have argued it violates their First Amendment rights by shutting down the platform and users’ speech on it, but the federal government has maintained the law is necessary for national security.
TikTok went to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court upheld the law, agreeing with the government’s justification and arguing the ban does not violate TikTok’s First Amendment rights, since the app and all of its users’ posts will still be available if TikTok just separates itself from ByteDance.
It’s unclear when the Supreme Court will issue its final ruling on the TikTok ban after it hears arguments on January 10, though given the quick timeline, it’s likely the court could rule within days, before January 19. If justices are still deliberating by the time the law is scheduled to take effect, it’s also possible they could decide to pause the law from taking effect until the ruling comes out. Should the Supreme Court uphold the law, that means the TikTok ban will stand unless Congress were to repeal it, which so far appears highly unlikely.
This story is breaking and will be updated.