Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban in 9-0 decision
In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the US Supreme Court upheld the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which would ban the distribution of TikTok.
The law is slated to go into effect as of January 19, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration. According to The New York Times, TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be attending the inauguration. The decision finds that TikTok’s First Amendment rights are not violated by the law, and let a lower-court decision stand.
“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed. It is so ordered.”
The Washington Post reports that Trump may be considering an executive order to delay enforcement of the ban.
The stock of TikTok competitors Meta, Snap, and Google don’t appear to be seeing any boost in response to the news, with Snap actually down on the day.