The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law forcing the sale of TikTok from a Chinese state-owned company, despite President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump seeking a delay in the sale.
In a unanimous ruling, the justices ordered a qualified divestment of the California-based social media platform from China's ByteDance.
“There is no question that TikTok provides a unique and far-reaching source of expression, participation, and community for more than 170 million Americans,” upholds the ruling of the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals. they wrote in an opinion piece.
“However, Congress has determined that the sale is necessary to address espoused national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries,” they said.
“For the reasons set forth above, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate Appellant's First Amendment rights.”
In oral arguments last week, the Supreme Court was willing to uphold the lower court's ruling, favoring national security concerns raised by the Biden administration and lawmakers over free speech concerns.
Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger argued that laws protecting Americans from foreign enemy regulation applications are necessary and that once TikTok is freed from foreign enemy regulation, Americans' free speech rights will no longer be restricted.
Congress passed the bill last April and Biden, 82, signed it into law, but the outgoing commander-in-chief has no plans to implement it in his final three days in office.
Instead, Biden will defer the decision to President Trump, 78, who returns to the White House on Monday, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Thursday.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend President Trump's inauguration on Monday, and within minutes of Friday's high court ruling, the president-elect will join Chinese President Xi Jinping and the social media app. announced that they had talked about it.
“I just spoke with President Xi Jinping of China,” Trump posted on his Truth Social shortly before 9:30 a.m. ET. “This meeting was very good for both China and the United States. We resolved many issues together, and we hope that they can be resolved soon.”
“We discussed the balance between trade, fentanyl, TikTok and many other topics. President Xi and I will do our best to make the world more peaceful and secure!” he said.
In a floor speech on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said: “Everyone, including the Biden administration, the incoming Trump administration, and even the Supreme Court, should continue to work to find an American buyer for TikTok. Free the app from the influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party and keep TikTok alive. This will protect the jobs of millions of creators.”
