US Supreme Court upholds law banning Tikok

The US Supreme Court on Friday (January 17) upheld a law mandating the Chinese-owned company ByteDance to either divest its ownership of TikTok or face a ban in the United States.

The decision comes amid national security concerns regarding China's potential access to the personal data of approximately 170 million American users.

Also Read: How does US' tik-tok ban differ from India's?

The law, passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Joe Biden, requires ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets by January 19, 2025, or face a ban. The Supreme Court ruled that this mandate does not violate the First Amendment, stating that the government aims to protect free speech from foreign adversaries and limit data gathering on U.S. citizens.

What the court said

"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary," the court said.

Many TikTok users have begun migrating to alternative platforms. Notably, the Chinese social media app RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, gained nearly 3 million U.S. users daily, driven by concerns over the TikTok ban. This surge increased RedNote's daily active users in the U.S. to approximately 3.4 million.