US Supreme Court refuses to "rescue", TikTok is about to "run out of doors" in the United States?

The US Supreme Court today (January 17) refused to rescue TikTok from a law that would force its parent company ByteDance to divest or have the popular short video app banned in the United States by January 19 on national security grounds.

The ban does not violate the Constitution.

The justices unanimously ruled that the law, passed by a bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Democratic President Joe Biden, does not violate the US Constitution’s prohibitions on government restrictions on free speech. The justices affirmed the lower court’s ruling as lawful, after challenges from TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users.

The US Supreme Court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest or ban TikTok by January 19.

“There is no doubt about TikTok’s popularity with a broader community of more than 170 million users in the United States. However, Congress has determined that divestment is necessary to address national security concerns,” the Supreme Court said.

The Supreme Court said it was giving “substantial deference” to the US government ’s national security concerns about China. The justices stressed that evidence in the case showed that China “has engaged in extensive and years-long efforts to assemble structured data, particularly on US persons, in support of intelligence and counterintelligence activities.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden's stance today that "TikTok should remain for Americans, but simply be under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns Congress identified when it crafted this law."

TikTok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The app plans to shut down its U.S. operations on Sunday, unless there is a last-minute delay, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court moved quickly in the case, holding arguments on January 10, just nine days ahead of the statutory deadline.

TikTok is one of the most prominent social media platforms in the United States, used by about 170 million Americans – nearly half the country’s population, mostly young people. TikTok’s powerful algorithm, its main asset, provides individual users with short videos tailored to their personal preferences. The platform offers a large collection of user-submitted videos, often under a minute in length, that can be viewed using a smartphone app or online.

China and the US are economic and geopolitical rivals, and the Asian nation’s ownership of TikTok has raised concerns among US leaders for years. The TikTok battle comes in the final days of Mr Biden’s term – Republican Donald Trump will succeed him next Monday – and at a time of rising trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Addressing national security concerns

The Biden administration has said the law is aimed at controlling foreign adversaries, not protecting free speech, and that TikTok can continue to operate as it does if it is freed from Chinese control.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was invited to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20.

During arguments, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Prelogar said the Chinese government’s control of TikTok poses a “grave threat” to U.S. national security as it seeks to collect large amounts of sensitive data on Americans and engage in covert influence operations. Prelogar said China forces companies like ByteDance to secretly hand over data on social media users and carry out Chinese government directives.

TikTok's massive data set is a powerful tool that could be used by the Chinese government for harassment, recruitment, and espionage, Prelogar said, adding that China "could weaponize TikTok at any time to harm the United States."

The law, which was passed last April, has been defended in court by the Biden administration. TikTok and ByteDance, as well as some users who post content on the app, challenged the measure and appealed to the Supreme Court after losing on December 6, 2024, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

President-elect Donald Trump's opposition to the ban represents a reversal from his first term when he aimed to ban TikTok. Mr. Trump has said he has a "warm place in his heart for TikTok," explaining that the app has helped him reach young voters in the 2024 election.

In December 2024, Mr. Trump asked the Supreme Court to halt the law to give his new administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution to the questions at issue in the case.” Yet while Mr. Trump has vowed to “rescue” TikTok, many of his Republican allies support the ban.

Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said Thursday that the new administration would keep TikTok in the United States if a deal was made. Waltz said the new administration would "take measures to prevent TikTok from being shut down," citing a provision in the law that allows for a 90-day extension if there is "substantial progress" toward divestment.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also supported the idea that TikTok should be given more time to find a US buyer and that he would work with the Trump administration "to allow TikTok to continue operating while ensuring national security."

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to attend Trump's inauguration on January 20, sitting alongside other high-ranking guests from the tech industry.

(Source: Reuters)

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/toa-an-toi-cao-my-tu-choi-giai-cuu-tiktok-sap-het-cua-tai-hoa-ky-192250117232809874.htm