The court is moving with unusual speed to hear the First Amendment appeal
TikTok fans and influencers, rejoice. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the popular site's appeal of an order that it shut down or be acquired by a non-Chinese company by Jan. 19.
The court will hear arguments starting next month, an exceptionally fast track. In another break with procedure, the court did not ask the U.S. government to respond to TikTok's petition but simply granted it and put it on the calendar.
It took the court only two days to respond to the last-minute application asking it to declare that the law requiring TikTokto shed its Chinese ownership violates the First Amendment.
Interestingly, the court did not block the law while the case moves forward, meaning that it could fast-track arguments and issue a ruling before Jan. 19, the deadline that was set by the law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.
The law came in response to fears that ByteDance is using TikTok to gather surveillance data or, perhaps, poison the minds of American youth withthe seemingly frivolous content that has seized the country's imagination.
Much of what makes TikTok so attractive is the work of the so-called influencers and content creators who assemble short bits ranging from political satire to entertainment gossip. Young people feel that TikTok is "theirs" and defend it from accusations that it is part of a Cold War Chinese scheme to subvert U.S. interests.
The law allows the President to extend the deadline for 90 days but it's not clear whether President-elect Trump is likely to do that.
Trump's stance on TikTok has evolved over time. In 2020, during his first term, he tried to ban the app due to national security concerns but in his recent campaign, he opposed a ban, noting TikTok's popularity among young voters.
Trump has suggested that ByteDance could sell TikTok to a U.S. company to address the security concerns. He has also criticized other social media platforms, labeling Facebook as an "enemy of the people."
A federal appeals court recently upheld a law requiring ByteDanceto divest its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. The court said the law does not violate free speech.
With over 170 million U.S. users, TikTok has become a vital platform for news, entertainment, and small businesses. TikTok claims a month-long shutdown could cost U.S. small businesses more than $1 billion and harm free expression on one of the countrys leading platforms.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-12-18 19:25:13
