Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban
CBSDec 19, 2024
US Supreme Court Fast-Tracks TikTok Ban Challenge
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Above: A mobile phone screen displaying the logo of Tiktok is seen in front of another screen displaying multiple Tiktok logos in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 10, 2024. Image copyright: Didem Mente/Anadolu/Contributor via Getty Images
The Facts
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to a federal law that could ban the app nationally, scheduling oral arguments for Jan. 10.
The law, signed by Pres. Joe Biden in April, requires TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the platform to an American company by Jan. 19 or face a nationwide ban.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
This law represents a carefully crafted, bipartisan effort to protect national security from well-substantiated threats posed by Chinese control of the platform, including potential data collection and content manipulation targeting American users. SCOTUS must carefully consider the arguments.
Establishment-critical narrative
The unprecedented attempt to shut down one of America's largest speech platforms violates constitutional rights, devastates legitimate businesses, and lacks concrete evidence of actual security threats. With a forced sale impossible to execute, there's little doubt that the court will rule the ban illegal.
