Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban law despite Sotomayor's disagreement
Society
AI summaryDisplay highlights
- The Supreme Court upholds a law requiring a sale or ban of TikTok due to security concerns
- ByteDance said it has no plans to sell the platform
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed with part of the decision
- The law was passed last year, requiring TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest the platform by January 19
360 summary
- Senator Rand Paul argues that the national security and data privacy risks Congress cited were based on accusations, not proof.
- He believes that TikTok has offered to work with Oracle to house the data in the United States and have an American board, and that the company is not solely owned by China.
- Senator Paul has consistently opposed the ban on TikTok, stating that banning speech is not the solution and that the US should not follow the authoritarian practices of other countries.
Newsweek- A group of senators sent a letter to the White House urging President Biden to extend the deadline by 90 days.
- The senators argued that a TikTok shutdown would have serious consequences for the millions of Americans and businesses that rely on the platform, especially for creators in California who have been using it to share their stories and find resources during the wildfires.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke to Biden about extending the deadline, stating that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans.
Newsweek- Significant numbers of TikTok users are moving to RedNote, a similar app with built-in e-commerce functionality, as a result of the ban.
- RedNote stands to gain the abandoned TikTok shoppers, as it has e-commerce functionality built into it already.
- The ban raises questions about the US government's relationship with China and the potential for a new Cold War.
vice.com
- The US Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a law requiring the sale or ban of TikTok due to national security concerns, citing the app's susceptibility to foreign adversary control and its collection of vast amounts of sensitive data from over 170 million American users.
- Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil M. Gorsuch wrote separately, agreeing with the court's judgment about the constitutionality of the law but expressing some concerns, including the rushed process and the potential for a determined foreign adversary to replace TikTok with another surveillance application.
- The Biden administration argued that the law was crafted to prevent China from using TikTok to covertly manipulate content and sway public opinion in the US, but the justices did not endorse that claim to resolve the case, saying the data security concerns alone could justify congressional action.
The Washington Post- TikTok creators behind the lawsuit urge the federal government to find a way to allow the app to continue operating as a "vital outlet for creativity, public discourse, and joy."
- Free speech advocates criticize the decision, saying it would expand government censorship and weaken the First Amendment.
- Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, said the court’s decision “has markedly expanded the government’s power to restrict speech in the name of national security.”
The Washington Post- TikTok executives have discussed the possibility of pulling the app offline for US users on Sunday to demonstrate how disruptive a ban would be.
- The company has not publicly commented on its plans, but employees in the US have been told that the offices will remain open even if the situation has not been resolved before the January 19 deadline.
- TikTok has warned that even a temporary ban could lead to a major user exodus from which it would be difficult for the company to recover.
The Washington Post- The US Supreme Court has upheld a law requiring a sale or ban of TikTok due to security concerns
- White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that actions to implement the law must fall to the next administration
- President-elect Biden has reportedly been exploring possible ways to undo the legislation, including via an executive order, but it would stand on shaky legal ground
buzzfeed.com
Business Insider- Justice Sotomayor concurred with the Court's decision that the law requiring TikTok's sale or ban survives First Amendment challenges.
- However, she disagreed with Part II.A of the Court's per curiam opinion, which assumes without deciding that the parts of the law being challenged are subject to scrutiny under the First Amendment.
- Justice Sotomayor stated that the Court's precedent "leaves no doubt" that the First Amendment applies to the challenged parts of the law.
Newsweek
Remove Duplicated Information
Less is MoreApplicable for iOS and Android systems
Follow Us