{"id":2388145,"date":"2025-01-09T06:17:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T11:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktok-at-supreme-court-what-to-know-as-divest-or-ban-deadline-looms-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T06:20:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T11:20:19","slug":"tiktok-at-supreme-court-what-to-know-as-divest-or-ban-deadline-looms-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktok-at-supreme-court-what-to-know-as-divest-or-ban-deadline-looms-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok at Supreme Court: What to know as divest-or-ban deadline looms &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftiktok-at-supreme-court-what-to-know-as-divest-or-ban-deadline-looms-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2388145&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses impending Supreme\u200c Court hearings concerning TikTok, which faces a potential ban in the U.S.\u200d due too <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-upholds-law-forcing-tiktok-divestment-from-china-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Appeals court upholds law forcing TikTok divestment from China - Washington Examiner\">national security concerns tied<\/a> \u2064to its\u2064 ownership by \u200bChina-based ByteDance. The decision comes in the wake of a bipartisan law, signed by \u2063President Joe Biden, which \u2063requires TikTok to divest from \u200bByteDance or \u200crisk a\u2064 permanent\u200b ban. The law is set\u2063 to take effect on \u2063January 19, which gives the supreme Court \u200climited time to rule on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok\u2019s legal \u2064team has challenged the law, arguing it violates the First Amendment by infringing on users&#8217; speech and access to the platform, asserting that the government exaggerates security risks.\u2063 legal experts acknowledge this case as unique due to TikTok&#8217;s vast \u200buser base, which exceeds 160 million in the U.S. Free speech \u200cadvocates, including the ACLU, argue that an outright ban could\u200c set a risky precedent for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/threatens-free-expression-senate-panel-passes-online-child-sex-bill-critics-say-will-jeopardize-security\/\" title=\"\u2018Threatens Free Expression\u2019: Senate Panel Passes Online Child Sex Bill Critics Say Will \u2018Jeopardize Security\u2019\">regulating online platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The article outlines the court&#8217;s previous rulings that\u2062 have favored government interests in\u2063 national security, and highlights the broader \u2062implications of this\u200d case not just for TikTok, but also for how \u2062foreign-owned\u200d technologies are regulated\u2064 in the context of free speech.The\u2063 Supreme Court&#8217;s\u2062 conservative majority, \u2062known for deferring to government views on national security, could lean towards siding \u2063with the \u200bBiden\u2063 administration on this complex issue.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">TikTok at Supreme Court: What to know as divest-or-ban deadline looms<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1930802\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Supreme Court<\/a> will convene for a rare oral argument session on Friday to consider a set of landmark cases that could permanently alter the way millions of people consume online content.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tiktok\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TikTok<\/a>, the video-based social media app used by more than 160 million users in the United States, faces an ultimatum to divest from its China-based parent company ByteDance or face a permanent U.S. ban, thanks to a bipartisan national security law signed by President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a>. The law is set to take effect on Jan. 19, leading legal experts to believe the justices will have fewer than nine days to turn around a decision.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Anna Barclay\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In an effort to avoid what some have called a sale-or-ban law, ByteDance and a group of content creators sued and argued that the law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">First Amendment<\/a> rights by restricting access to the platform and its users&rsquo; speech. <\/p>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a> passed the law in April as his administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">stressed national security risks tied<\/a> to ByteDance&rsquo;s Chinese ownership, which it claims could enable Beijing to exploit TikTok for espionage, blackmail, or propaganda.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok and its allies counter that the government has overstated these threats and ignored the broader implications for free speech, as more than 170 million Americans use the platform regularly. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rarely if ever has the Court confronted a free speech case that matters to so many people,&rdquo; wrote Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer who will be arguing at the lectern on Friday on behalf of individual content creators.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The First Amendment clashes with national security<\/h2>\n<p>TikTok, enjoyed by millions for its mix of viral dance trends, news clips, and zoomers rushing to repost the latest memes, has become a cultural touchstone that legal experts say make it a unique case.<\/p>\n<p>Free speech advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that the ban sets a dangerous precedent for regulating online platforms. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To ban an entire communications platform used by tens of millions of Americans, the government must meet an extraordinarily high bar: It must show that the ban is the only way to prevent serious, imminent harm to national security, and that the ban limits no more speech than necessary to accomplish that purpose,&rdquo; the ACLU <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/cases\/tiktok-inc-et-al-v-garland-amicus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">wrote<\/a> on its webpage.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok&rsquo;s legal team, led by former Trump administration Solicitor General Noel Francisco, contends the law unlawfully restricts speech, as even content deemed harmless&mdash;such as home-repair tutorials and vacation montages&mdash;would be swept up in the ban.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the platform&rsquo;s popularity has drawn scrutiny from U.S. officials, who warn that ByteDance&rsquo;s ties to Beijing pose significant national security risks.<\/p>\n<p>Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, has stressed the urgency of addressing the risks. &ldquo;No one can seriously dispute that the PRC&rsquo;s control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a grave threat to national security,&rdquo; she wrote in a filing last week.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reagan, Obama, and Trump Judges Sided Against TikTok<\/h2>\n<p>A unanimous ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found the government&rsquo;s concerns about ByteDance&rsquo;s potential for data exploitation and content manipulation compelling. The panel, consisting of judges appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, upheld the law. Judge Douglas Ginsburg noted that the law was &ldquo;carefully crafted&rdquo; to address foreign ownership without targeting domestic speech.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan emphasized that the law aligns with long-standing restrictions on foreign control of mass communications channels, stating Congress need not wait for China to exploit TikTok before taking preventive action.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Broader Implications and the Supreme Court&rsquo;s Approach<\/h2>\n<p>The case carries implications beyond TikTok, addressing broader questions about regulating foreign-owned tech companies and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-points-out-big-difference-between-his-hostage-recoveries-and-bidens-absolutely-ridiculous-iran-deal\/\" title=\"Trump highlights stark contrast between his successful hostage rescues and Biden&#039;s flawed Iran deal.\">balancing national security<\/a> with free speech. The Supreme Court&rsquo;s conservative majority may find the government&rsquo;s arguments persuasive, particularly given Chief Justice John Roberts&rsquo; 2010 decision in&nbsp;<em>Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project,<\/em>&nbsp;which emphasized deference to government judgments on national security.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Jaap Arriens\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>TikTok&rsquo;s fate could also be influenced by political developments. President-elect Donald Trump, in an unusual twist, has urged the Supreme Court to delay implementing the ban until after his Jan. 20 inauguration, signaling his desire to negotiate a resolution that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-america-foreign-born-population-zoomed-to-record-high-46-million-census-report-shows\/\" title=\"Record high: 46 million foreign-born people in America, according to Census report.\">addresses security concerns<\/a> while preserving the app.<\/p>\n<p>Trump sports over 14 million followers on the app and has even suggested the platform contributed to helping younger voters fold into his &ldquo;Make America Great Again&rdquo; base during the 2024 election. Although he initially recognized the national security implications at stake when he first floated banning the app in 2020, he posted on social media in September that he would &ldquo;save TikTok in America.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, more legacy conservatives like former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former Vice President Mike Pence have maintained the position that TikTok is a threat that should not be underestimated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;TikTok is digital fentanyl, a 21st-century technological weapon being used by the Chinese Communist Party to target the American people,&rdquo; Pence <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3268258\/pence-group-supreme-court-uphold-tiktok-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> in a statement to the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em> last month.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How are justices most likely to resolve this?<\/h2>\n<p>The Supreme Court is expected to focus on whether the law overreaches by effectively banning TikTok or strikes a reasonable balance by allowing the platform to operate independently of ByteDance. <\/p>\n<p>Justices could promptly affirm the D.C. Circuit&rsquo;s decision in a summary ruling, relying on Judge Ginsburg&rsquo;s opinion, or reverse it, though that would require a more fully developed explanation of errors by lower courts, South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman wrote in a blog for <em>Reason <\/em>last month.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, the court might issue a temporary injunction to allow time for a full written opinion or delay ruling on the petition for certiorari, forcing the Biden administration to decide whether to extend the compliance deadline,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/volokh\/2024\/12\/18\/tick-tock-goes-the-scotus-clock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a>&nbsp;to Blackman.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If TikTok comes into compliance with the law,&rdquo; such as a U.S. buyer purchasing the app, then &ldquo;there is no need for the Court to resolve this issue,&rdquo; Blackman said, noting there could be an outcome where the justices need not decide the case.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If somehow TikTok comes into compliance with the law, then Judge Ginsburg&rsquo;s opinion will be vacated under&nbsp;<em>Munsingwear<\/em>&nbsp;and we can all forget this ever happened,&rdquo; Blackman added, referring to the case law surrounding what to do with a lower court decision when a case becomes moot.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the justices could simply not rule in a timely enough manner. If no decision is in by the evening of Jan. 18 and Biden has not extended the compliance deadline, then TikTok will likely suffer a temporary ban until a final decision is made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1930802\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1930802\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TikTok faces a Supreme Court hearing on its potential ban or divestment from ByteDance, impacting millions of users<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2388146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23081853460573-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[48187,5978,32275,6248,32076],"class_list":["post-2388145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ban-deadline","tag-divestment","tag-supreme-court","tag-tiktok","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23081853460573-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2388145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2388149,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388145\/revisions\/2388149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2388146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2388145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2388145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2388145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}