Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, clears way for app to shut down in U.S. as soon as Sunday

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2025-01-18 11:00:02

By Caitlin Yilek, Melissa Quinn

Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a new law that would lead to a ban of the social media platform TikTok , clearing the way for the widely popular app to shutter in the U.S. as soon as Sunday.

"We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate the petitioners' First Amendment rights," the court said in a unanimous unsigned opinion, which upholds the lower court decision against TikTok. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote separately, with Gorsuch agreeing with the outcome of the case but splitting with the court's reasoning.

What happens to TikTok when the Sunday deadline arrives is still unclear. Following the ruling, the White House said the Biden administration would not enforce the ban on Sunday, and would leave it to the Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that he would make his "decision on TikTok" in "the not too distant future," but that he "must have time to review the situation."

In a statement provided to CBS News Friday evening, TikTok said that "the statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok's availability to over 170 million Americans. Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19."