Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress see a threat to the nation’s security from the app’s Chinese ownership and passed a law requiring it to

Live Updates: Supreme Court Seems Poised to Uphold Law That Could Shut Down TikTok

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2025-01-10 18:00:02

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress see a threat to the nation’s security from the app’s Chinese ownership and passed a law requiring it to be sold or effectively shut down in the United States.

The Supreme Court seemed inclined on Friday to uphold a law requiring TikTok be sold or effectively be shut down in the United States.

Even as several justices expressed concerns that the law was in tension with the First Amendment, a majority appeared satisfied that it was aimed at TikTok’s ownership rather than its speech.

The government offered two rationales for the law: combating covert disinformation from China and barring it from harvesting private information from Americans. The court was divided over whether the first justification was sufficient to justify it. But several justices seemed troubled by the possibility that China could use data culled from the app for espionage or blackmail.

The justices explored the practical implications of a ruling against TikTok and seemed intrigued by the possibility that it could provide the jolt required to persuade ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, to pursue divestiture.