Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Challenge To Law That Could Ban TikTok in U.S.
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could lead to a ban of the social media platform’s presence in the U.S.
The high court set Jan. 10 for oral arguments, just nine days before TikTok has said it would face being restricted.
More from Deadline
Congress overwhelmingly passed a law last year to force TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban on app stores.
TikTok has challenged the law on First Amendment grounds. After an appeals court rejected the challenge, TikTok asked the Supreme Court for an emergency ruling.
“The parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, as applied to petitioners, violates the First Amendment,” the court said in an order today.
The court has allotted two hours to oral arguments, with opening briefs due on Dec. 27 and reply briefs due on Jan. 3. Amicus briefs are due on Dec. 27.
Lawmakers voted for the legislation, citing the national security threat of China’s access to user data and the potential for Beijing to manipulate what content Americans see. The D.C. Circuit sided with the U.S. government, ruling that there was a compelling interest to restrict TikTok even with the strict scrutiny required when a law impacts First Amendment rights.
TikTok has long argued that concerns over the Chinese government’s access to user data is misguided.
The company said earlier this week, “The TikTok ban results in a massive and unprecedented censorship of over 170 million Americans on January 19, 2025. Estimates show that small businesses on TikTok would lose more than $1 billion in revenue and creators would suffer almost $300 million in lost earnings in just one month unless the ban is halted.”
But advocates for the law say that it is hardly unprecedented for the U.S. to restrict foreign ownership of a major communications platform, pointing to laws that govern U.S. broadcasters.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he opposes a ban, crediting TikTok with helping him in his election to return to the White House. But during his first term, he initiated an effort to force ByteDance to divest the app with the threat of a ban, an effort via executive order that was ultimately sidelined in the courts.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
