Photo source: FMT
TikTok has appealed to the Supreme Court to prevent the implementation of legislation that could effectively prohibit the platform in the United States by January 19.
Concurrently, President-elect Donald Trump held a meeting with TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
The company is seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention to review its challenge to the law, which requires ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest from the app by the specified date. Failure to comply could result in Google and Apple being forced to cease support for TikTok on their U.S. platforms.
The appeal follows a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., which declined to postpone the enforcement of its ruling that upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The appeals court cited national security concerns raised by lawmakers who supported the legislation.
Trump’s Stance
Prior to meeting with Chew, Trump commented to reporters, “We’ll take a look at TikTok,” when questioned about the potential ban. “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he added.
It’s worth noting that during his first term, Trump attempted to prohibit the app. However, he has recently expressed opposition to the law enacted by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden during the current campaign.
TikTok’s Legal Arguments
In its Supreme Court filing, TikTok’s legal team argued that “Congress has enacted a massive and unprecedented speech restriction. TikTok is an online platform that is one of the Nation’s most popular and important venues for communication.” They contended that there is a “strong public interest” in having the Supreme Court review the appeals court’s decision supporting this legislation.
The filing further emphasised that “The Act will shutter one of America’s most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration,” which would silence the voices of TikTok users and many Americans who rely on the platform for discussions about politics, commerce, arts, and other significant public issues.
“The Supreme Court has an established record of upholding Americans’ right to free speech,” TikTok Policy stated on its X social media account.
The company also highlighted potential economic consequences, estimating that a TikTok ban could result in small businesses losing over $1 billion in revenue and creators losing nearly $300 million in earnings in just one month.