TikTok
By Akeem Atoyebi
A ban on TikTok in the United States is billed to take effect this Sunday following the Supreme Court unanimous rejection of an appeal against the law mandating the ban.
The law, passed by Congress, requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its stake in the app or face the ban, citing national security concerns over its ties to China.
In spite of the impending enforcement, the details of how the ban will be carried out remain cloudy. The White House has indicated it will leave enforcement responsibilities to the Trump administration.
The decision by the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the law did not infringe upon free speech rights.
According to BBC, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her concurrence, stated, “I see no reason to assume without deciding that the Act implicated the First Amendment because our precedent leaves no doubt that it does.”
TikTok, one of the world’s most popular short-form video platforms and a cornerstone of the multi-billion-dollar influencer economy, has been at the centre of a legal and political battle for over a year.
ByteDance was initially ordered to sell the app to a U.S. buyer by January 2024, but no sale has yet been finalised.
The Biden administration, which concludes on Monday, has confirmed it will not enforce the ban, leaving its implementation to the incoming Trump administration.
According to U.S. media reports, a Biden official noted that the matter would be handled by President-elect Donald Trump. Trump, who originally called for the ban, has recently shifted his position, stating he will “find a way to save” TikTok after he is sworn into office.
