The US Supreme Court refused to rescue TikTok from a law that would have required the popular short-form video app to be sold by Chinese parent company ByteDance or shut down on Sunday in the United States on national security grounds – in a major blow to the platform used by nearly half of all Americans.
The justices ruled unanimously on Friday that the law, which was passed by a large partisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the First Amendment’s protection of the US Constitution against the government’s curtailment of free speech. The judges upheld a lower court ruling that had upheld the move after being challenged by TikTok, ByteDance and other users of the app.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a unique and expansive space for expression, ways to interact, and a source of community. But Congress has decided that divestiture is necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and and relations with a foreign enemy,” the court said in an unsigned opinion.
The court added that “we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”
The Supreme Court acted quickly in the case, after holding arguments on January 10, just nine days before the deadline set by law. The case pitted free speech rights against national security concerns in the age of social media.
TikTok is one of the most prominent social media platforms in the United States, used by around 270 million Americans – nearly half of the country’s population, including many young people. TikTok’s powerful algorithm, its main asset, feeds users individual short videos designed to their liking. The platform features a large collection of user-submitted videos, usually less than a minute long, that can be viewed via a smartphone app or online.
China and the US are economic and geopolitical rivals, and TikTok’s Chinese ownership has for years raised concerns among American leaders. The TikTok battle took place in the waning days of Biden’s presidency – Republican Donald Trump succeeded him on Monday – and at a time of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The White House and Trump’s team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Biden administration says the law targets control of the app by a foreign adversary, not protected speech, and that TikTok can continue to operate as it is if it is freed from China’s control.
‘Great threat’
During the controversy over the case, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Prelogar said the Chinese government’s control of TikTok poses a “significant threat” to US national security, with China seeking to collect more sensitive information on Americans and conduct covert operations. Prelogar said China is forcing companies like ByteDance to secretly turn over data on social media users and carry out Chinese government orders.
TikTok’s massive data set, Prelogar added, represents a powerful tool that the Chinese government can use for harassment, recruitment and espionage, and that China “can arm TikTok at any time to harm the United States”.
The law was passed last April. Biden’s administration defended it in court. TikTok and ByteDance, along with other users who post content on the app, challenged the measure and appealed to the Supreme Court after losing on December 6 in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Trump’s opposition to the ban represents a reversal from his first term in office when he sought to ban TikTok. Trump said he “has a warm place in my heart for TikTok,” noting that the app helped him with younger voters in the 2024 election.
In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to suspend the law to give his incoming administration “an opportunity to pursue a political solution to the questions at issue in this case.” But while Trump has promised to “save” TikTok, many of his Republican allies support a ban.
Mike Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, said on Thursday that the new administration would keep TikTok alive in the United States if a deal was in place. Waltz said the incoming administration “will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” and cited a law that allows for a 90-day extension if there is “significant progress” toward the split.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday that TikTok should be given more time to find an American buyer and that he would work with the Trump administration to “keep TikTok alive while protecting our national security”.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, sitting among other high-profile invitees.
TikTok said the law threatens the First Amendment rights of not only itself and its users, but all Americans. TikTok said the ban would affect its users, advertisers, content creators and employee talent. TikTok has 7,000 US employees.
Noel Francisco, a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance, told the Supreme Court that the app is “one of the most popular speech platforms in America,” and said the law would require it to be “dark” unless ByteDance makes a qualified distinction.
TikTok plans to shut down its US app on Sunday without a last-minute reprieve.
Francisco said the real goal of the US government with this law is rhetoric – mainly the fear that the American people could be “influenced by Chinese information”. But the First Amendment leaves that up to the people of the United States, not the government, Francisco said.
Legal barriers that provide certain services to TikTok and other apps controlled by foreign adversaries, including by offering them through app stores such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google, have effectively prevented their continued use in the US.
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