TikTok is holding its breath awaiting the US Supreme Court's ruling.

Following the January 10th court hearing, the US Supreme Court appears to be leaning towards enforcing the law that would force TikTok to cease operations in the US.

Outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

For more than two hours at the court hearing in Washington DC on January 10 (local time), the US Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical about the validity of TikTok's arguments when the company claimed that the law passed by Congress eight months ago violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution regarding free speech, Reuters reported on January 11.

Here's an overview of the US legislative process and TikTok's legal battle in the US:

The law plays a central role in the case.

TikTok's legal battle stems from a law passed by the US Congress in April 2024.

Titled the Act to Protect Americans from Foreign Adversary Apps, the law states that third-party service providers such as Google or Apple are prohibited from "distributing, maintaining, or updating" an app controlled by a foreign adversary.

This means that offering such applications on Google or Apple's app stores would be considered illegal.

By law, any app operated by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company based in Beijing (China), or its subsidiaries, is considered a "foreign-controlled app."

The scope of the law also includes applications from a "front company" of a foreign adversary, which the U.S. identifies as countries such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

The law takes effect 270 days after its passage, meaning it begins on January 19th. However, TikTok can still operate in the US after this date if it separates from ByteDance's control.

In the event that an American company acquires a foreign competitor's app, the incumbent president can extend the official implementation deadline of the law by another 90 days to facilitate the transfer.

Debate between the parties

The U.S. Department of Justice , representing the government, briefly presented its arguments to the Supreme Court. Washington argued that the vast amount of information TikTok collects about American users could be used by the Chinese government for "espionage or blackmail," or to "advance political interests" through the dissemination of disinformation and incitement of discord within the United States during a crisis.

"In response to these dangerous national security threats, the U.S. Congress has not imposed any restrictions on freedom of speech, let alone views or content. Instead, Congress has only limited the control of foreign adversaries: TikTok can continue to operate in the U.S. and present the same content from its long-time users in the same way, if the current owner divests to free the platform from Chinese control," CBS News quoted the Justice Department's presentation as saying.

The TikTok app attracts approximately 170 million regular users in the United States.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing TikTok argue that shutting down the app in the U.S. would affect 170 million regular users in the country. The lawyers called the move to remove TikTok "unprecedented" and accused the U.S. government of waging war on the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.

TikTok has also denied the possibility of leaving ByteDance, and its Chinese parent company stated in April 2024 that it would not sell the platform.

A group of eight TikTok users in the US also filed a lawsuit challenging the law, citing the First Amendment as the basis of their argument.

However, in December 2024, a federal appeals court rejected TikTok and its user group's argument. Specifically, the DC appeals court panel agreed with the government's argument that TikTok poses a risk to U.S. national security. The court also rejected TikTok's request to postpone the ban while it appeals to the Supreme Court.

CBS News quoted Thomas Berry, a constitutional law expert at the Cato Institute (based in California, USA), as saying that the Supreme Court's support for the government's restrictions on a popular platform is unprecedented in American history. However, if it does happen, the Supreme Court would have grounds to do so.

Trump shifts his opposition to banning TikTok.

Initially, President-elect Donald Trump in 2020 sought to ban TikTok, forcing ByteDance to sell the app to the US due to national security concerns. However, things reversed during the 2024 presidential campaign after he first opened an account on TikTok.

In a recent development, Trump's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court late last year asking the court to consider extending the deadline beyond January 19 to give Trump time to consider a political solution to the case, according to Reuters.

Trump recently hosted TikTok's leader at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and attributed the platform's success to winning the votes of young voters on Election Day, November 5, 2024.

While Trump wants to find a solution for TikTok, some members of the incoming administration support banning TikTok, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor nominee Mike Waltz.

Leaders of the House China Committee and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell also submitted a petition to the Supreme Court urging the enforcement of the new law.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tiktok-nin-tho-cho-phan-quyet-cua-toa-toi-cao-my-18525011111375326.htm