Supreme Court leans toward upholding law that could ban TikTok: What to know
The fate of a law that would likely ban social media platform TikTok in the United States goes before the Supreme Court as the justices consider whether to block it.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday appeared likely to uphold a law that would effectively ban social media platform TikTok in the United States.
The nine justices on the conservative-majority court heard oral arguments from lawyers for TikTok, some of its users and the Biden administration, with at least a preliminary decision likely in days, if not hours.
Although the justices did not appear convinced by TikTok's free speech arguments, there remains some uncertainty over how the court will handle the case, especially with President-elect Donald Trump taking office a day after the Jan. 19 deadline for the law to take effect. The court has the authority to temporarily block the law even if it ultimately rules against TikTok.
Trump filed an unusual brief at the Supreme Court asking the justices to temporarily block the law so that when he takes office, he can “pursue a political resolution” to the dispute.
The law in question, enacted with broad bipartisan support, requires China-based TikTok owner ByteDance to divest itself of the company. If no sale takes place, the platform used by millions of Americans would "go dark," according to the company's lawyer, Noel Francisco.
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