U.S. Lawmakers Hail Supreme Court Ruling on TikTok
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have hailed a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a law requiring popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to be bought by an American company or be banned by Sunday. The justices unanimously ruled that the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden, does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.
The ruling is a blow to TikTok and to President-elect Donald Trump, who has been seeking a last-ditch solution to save the app. Trump has been a vocal critic of TikTok, citing concerns that it could be used to spy on users for Beijing and that its algorithm could be used to censor content.
Despite the ruling, lawmakers are urging the app to be saved. Democratic Representative Frank Pallone said that TikTok and other Beijing-controlled applications present a major threat to national security, while Republican Senator Tom Cotton blamed ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, for the app’s apparent demise.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked President-elect Trump for his commitment to finding a solution that keeps the app available in the United States. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump is now scrambling with his advisors to come up with a way to save the app, with his incoming national security adviser, U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, saying that measures will be put in place to keep TikTok from going dark. However, only President Biden could give the app an up to 90-day extension on finding a buyer, and it appears unlikely that he will do so.
Lawmakers are urging the Biden Administration and the incoming Trump Administration to work together to find an American buyer for TikTok, so that the app can be freed from any influence or control from the Chinese Communist Party and kept going, preserving the jobs of millions of creators.
