After months of speculation, TikTok in the US finally has an expiration date, unless the Supreme Court strikes it down or the platform is sold by its Chinese parent company.
In one of the most important cases of the social media age, free speech and national security clash at the Supreme Court on Friday in arguments over the fate of TikTok.
The case is also another example of the court being asked to rule about a medium with which the justices have acknowledged they have little familiarity or expertise.
TikTok and China-based ByteDance, as well as content creators and users, argue the law is a dramatic violation of the Constitution’s free speech guarantee.
The Biden Administration who defended this law believes TikTok and their parent company is a threat to the US nation as a whole.
“no one can seriously dispute that (China’s) control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a grave threat to national security.”
The justices have asked Trump and his administration to chime into the case as well, once a supporter of the ban the president-elect now has a “soft spot” for the platform.
The Trump Administration used TikTok to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, and Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in December. He has 14.7 million followers on TikTok.
The caveat to this however is that Trump comes into office one day after the proposed ban date so currently there is not much he can do.
A decision is expected soon.
Photo Credit: NPR
