In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s positive remarks about the well-known social media site, TikTok and its Chinese parent business petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn a government ban that was scheduled to go into force next month.
TikTok and parent company ByteDance Ltd. made a last-ditch effort to continue functioning in a market with over 170 million users by requesting that the court halt the law until January 6 while the justices decide whether to hear an appeal from the company. If ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok, the bill would prohibit it in the United States.
The ban will take effect on January 19, the day before Trump is sworn in, barring Supreme Court intervention. However, since the Justice Department is tasked with upholding the legislation and Trump, as president, would have the authority to accept any divestiture proposal, his position could have an impact on how the ban really works.
TikTok contended that there is a plausible chance the incoming government may suspend the act’s enforcement or take other steps to lessen its most dire possible effects.
“The act’s ban on TikTok would not benefit anyone—not the parties, the public, or the courts—if the new administration stopped enforcing it hours, days, or even weeks after it went into effect,” the company stated.
Trump stated on Monday that he might think about taking a different tack from his strict stance on the app during his 2020 presidency.
“Warm Spot”
“We will examine TikTok. At a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump stated, “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” citing the app as the reason for Republican wins among young people. “We’re looking into TikTok because it had an impact.”
People are not required by law to delete their TikTok apps. Instead, it prevents businesses who assist TikTok from carrying on with essential services, such as Oracle Corp., whose servers host the platform.
TikTok claims that by singling out the company, Congress violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. By a decision of 3-0, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed that claim, ruling that Congress was acting lawfully to safeguard user privacy and national security.
Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote for the panel, “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States.” “In this case, the government took action only to defend that freedom against a foreign adversary country and to restrict that adversary’s capacity to collect information on Americans.”
A week later, the appeals court declined to put the statute on hold while the Supreme Court considers whether to step in.
The rule “will shutter one of America’s most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration,” TikTok informed the Supreme Court.
The high court was also urged to halt the new law by a group of content creators.
The law, according to lawmakers, was required to stop China from using the app to disseminate propaganda or gather data on US individuals. As part of the lawsuit, the US authorities provided no proof that China had stolen data or utilised the program to influence