The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to a federal law banning the video-sharing app unless its US operations separate from Chinese parent company ByteDance. Arguments are set for Jan. 10, nine days before the law takes effect.
The high court will review a lower-court ruling upholding the legislation over national security concerns and rejecting TikTok’s argument that it violated the First Amendment. Congress enacted the measure in April over concerns from US officials China could access the personal data of Americans using the app, including browsing history, location, and biometrics. TikTok, which became available in the US in 2018 (see timeline), boasts roughly 170 million active US users.
ByteDance said it won’t sell its US operations. If banned, federal law will prevent app stores from letting users download or update TikTok, and internet hosting services won’t be able to support it. While using TikTok won’t be illegal, it could become inoperable.
