January 14, 2025

SCOTUS Not Leaning Toward Overturning TikTok Ban

Even the most leftist justices on the Supreme Court are concerned about Chinese spying.

Unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise, this is the last week for the popular social media platform TikTok to either divest from Chinese government control or be banned in the United States. The deadline is set for January 19, the day before Donald Trump takes office.

Last Friday, lawyers for the president-elect attempted to convince the Supreme Court to put a legal stay on the proceedings in order to give his administration a chance to orchestrate a deal for divesture. However, based on the justices’ response to the lawyers, SCOTUS is not in favor of overturning Congress’s new law against TikTok. Even Sonya Sotomayor said, “For the United States, the threat of [the Chinese Communist Party] using that information is what is at issue. It’s not whether the user thinks it’s okay.” Ketanji Brown Jackson also pointed out that banning TikTok isn’t a First Amendment violation; the issue is about associating with foreign governments, which isn’t a constitutional right.

In other words, even the most leftist justices on the Court are concerned about Chinese spying.

The Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision very soon, though it may extend Congress’s January 19 deadline while the justices consider the case.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attempt to intervene on behalf of TikTok is sending a big message not to China — Congress already did that by passing a law banning the ChiCom platform — but to America’s youth. It’s a brilliant 11th-hour effort to score political capital, even if he’s unsuccessful.

Will the app ultimately be saved by American businessmen?

There are individuals who are very interested in buying the platform and putting it in American hands. Entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary has offered to buy the company, thus fulfilling the divesture stipulation in Congress’s law. We’ll see if the company yields, though China will likely let TikTok lose the American market rather than lose control over an important spy apparatus.

What does a TikTok ban say to China?

A TikTok ban is an overt statement of reassuring power by the U.S. government. It shows China that it’s toying with a slumbering giant, and if it wakes us up, there will be consequences. Under President Joe Biden, China has been put on a very loose leash. Recall that the Chinese were allowed to fly a spy balloon over the entire U.S. unchallenged. A TikTok ban is a loud “No.”

What does a TikTok ban say to Big Tech?

There’s also something to be said about the message that a TikTok ban sends to Big Tech companies domestically. While TikTok is an easier target because it’s a foreign-owned social media company and doesn’t have the same rights as Americans, other companies like Meta should beware. Republicans, who led the charge on the TikTok ban, can and will use their power.

Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg et al. are smart enough to read the tea leaves. Last week, Zuckerberg fired the Facebook fact-checkers and reversed (we hope) the era of censorship — though all of this was likely more motivated by Biden leaving office and the turning of the screws ending.

Either way, putting these restrictions on the Chinese spy app is a good thing.

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