WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday left in place a law that would ban TikTok, the popular social media app that has raised national security concerns for years, unless its parent company sells it.
“There is no doubt that TikTok provides a unique and far-reaching outlet for expression, a means of engagement, and a source of community for more than 170 million Americans,” the court wrote in its ruling. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. For the reasons set forth above, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
A bipartisan law passed last year requires ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the platform by Sunday or face exclusion from app stores in the United States.
TikTok fought The law was taken all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing First Amendment rights, but failed to prevail and now faces a decision on whether to sell the app.
Trump’s next step
The 27-page judgment posed a bit of a dilemma for President-elect Donald Trump, who is now in favor of keeping TikTok on Americans’ cell phones despite wanting to ban it during his first term.
Trump wrote in one on Friday post announced on his social media page Truth Social that he would address the issue once he takes office on Monday.
“I just spoke to Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping. “The call was very good for both China and the United States,” Trump wrote. “I expect that we will solve many problems together, immediately. We talked about the balance between trafficking, fentanyl, TikTok and many other topics. President Xi and I will do everything we can to make the world more peaceful and secure!”
Trump issued an executive order in 2020 to ban the video platform unless it breaks with ByteDance turned around his position last year.
Trump’s nominee for attorney general Pam Bondi cited “pending litigation” and declined to directly answer a question during her confirmation about whether she would direct the Justice Department to enforce the TikTok ban hearing Wednesday.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, according to a source familiar with the planning.
Chew won’t be the only tech executive sitting nearby as Trump takes the oath of office. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, are expected to be in attendance. Both donated $1 million for Trump’s inauguration.
Chew posted a video on social media Friday after the ruling was released, thanking Trump “for his commitment to working with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”
“This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” he said. “As we said, TikTok is a place where people can create communities, discover new interests and express themselves, including over 7 million American businesses.”
The Director of National Intelligence released a report in February 2024, stating that “TikTok accounts managed by a propaganda arm (of the People’s Republic of China) reportedly targeted candidates of both political parties during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.”
Bipartisan support for the bill
The law, which requires TikTok’s parent company to sell the app or lose access to the American social media market, received bipartisan support in the House of Representatives last year after legislation was passed 352-65 Vote in March. The measure was approved by Congress as part of a larger amendment package a month later.
President Joe Biden signed it into law. However, he leaves it up to the Trump administration to decide whether to enforce the law.
“President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, even since Congress sent a bill to the president’s desk in an overwhelming, bipartisan manner: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply American-owned or other owned that meets the established needs National security concerns “supported by Congress in drafting this law,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote in a statement.
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this government recognizes that action to implement the law must simply be left to the next government, which takes office on Monday.”
Congress and the Biden administration pointed this out Warnings by national security officials about ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government as a key reason for forcing the parent company to sell the app.
TikTok maintains that it is majority owned by global investors including Susquehanna International Group and Blackrock, although about 20% remains in the hands of its Chinese founders.
Democratic senators made one Pitch in the eleventh hour on Wednesday to extend ByteDance’s deadline to separate from TikTok, but Republicans blocked the effort.
Last updated at 1:03 p.m., January 17, 2025
