On Friday, the US Supreme Court appeared to be poised to uphold a statute requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell or shut down the enormously popular online video sharing site.
The majority of the nine-member bench’s conservative and liberal judges looked skeptical of TikTok’s lawyer’s assertions that forcing a sale violated free expression rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The rule, signed by President Joe Biden in April, would prevent TikTok, which has 170 million American users, from appearing in US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance divests from the social media network by January 19.
The US government alleges TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda. China and ByteDance strongly deny the claims.
“This case ultimately boils down to speech,” TikTok counsel Noel Francisco said during two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments. “What we’re talking about is ideas. If the First Amendment means anything, it means that the government cannot restrict speech.”
Several of the justices pushed back, pointing to TikTok’s Chinese ownership.
REF: AFP
