Supreme Court to Hear TikTok Ban Challenge on Expedited Basis

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to a law that would ban the social media app if it isn't sold by its Chinese parent company, scheduling arguments for January 10, reports Bloomberg. This expedited hearing comes after a federal appeals court upheld the law earlier this month.

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., argue that the law violates the Constitution's free speech protections. The ban, which is set to take effect on January 19, the day before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, is described by TikTok as "a massive and unprecedented speech restriction."

The law, which bars companies supporting TikTok – including Oracle Corp., which hosts the platform's servers – from continuing to provide critical services, is being defended by the Biden administration and a group of content creators who are also challenging it.

In upholding the law, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit cited Congress's legitimate action to protect national security and user privacy. "The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States," wrote Judge Douglas Ginsburg in the panel's ruling. "Here the government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States."

Trump's current administration's stance on the TikTok ban is unclear. While he previously expressed support for the TikTok ban, this week he stated that he has a "warm spot" for the platform, suggesting that his approach to enforcing the law could be affected by the platform's role in mobilizing young voters in the recent election.

The law doesn't require users to delete TikTok apps. Instead, it prevents companies that support TikTok from providing essential services, effectively rendering the app inaccessible to Americans who don't already use it. If the Supreme Court doesn't block the ban, TikTok will be removed from app stores on January 19, preventing new users from accessing the platform. Existing users will eventually lose access as well.

TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the law while the justices consider the case. The court has instead opted for an expedited hearing, aiming for a definitive ruling before the January 19 deadline. The Supreme Court cases are TikTok v. Garland, 24-656, and Firebaugh v. Garland, 24-657.