"TikTok Ban Looms After Supreme Court Denial"

A ban on TikTok is set to take effect on Sunday, January 19, following the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision to reject the social media platform's appeal. The Court's ruling came after expressing skepticism over TikTok's First Amendment challenge.

The nine justices recognized that data collection is a common practice in today's digital landscape. However, they stated, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns.”

Without political intervention, TikTok is poised to go offline in the U.S. on Sunday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has stated that President Biden believes TikTok should operate in the U.S. but under American ownership. However, the responsibility to implement the law will fall to President-elect Donald Trump's administration, as Trump will be sworn into office on Monday.

The Supreme Court's ruling elaborates, “There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”

Trump has historically opposed a TikTok ban and might issue an executive order to delay its enforcement for 60 to 90 days upon taking office. On Truth Social, Trump mentioned he is in discussions with Chairman Xi Jinping about the ban, among other issues.

It remains uncertain whether China would be willing to sell TikTok outright to a Western buyer, though reports suggest a full purchase could be on the table. Elon Musk, involved with the incoming Trump administration, is reportedly being considered as a potential intermediary for interested Western buyers, or he might even attempt to acquire TikTok himself.

In the past week, TikTok users have migrated to the Chinese social media platform Red Note, or Xiaohongshu, which shares a similar format. Reuters reports that Red Note gained over 700,000 new users in just two days.

The future of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance: it must find a new owner or cease operations in the country unless an executive order from the Trump administration intervenes.