The Supreme Court has weighed in on the pending TikTok ban, just two days before the Jan. 19 deadline when it is set to go into effect.
On Friday, Jan. 17, the court ruled that the law forcing TikTok to cease operations in the United States if it does not divest from Chinese ownership is constitutional, affirming an appeals court’s previous ruling that the sell-or-ban mandate does not violate the First Amendment.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” Friday’s ruling stated. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
The high court had appeared skeptical of intervening on TikTok’s behalf last week as it heard arguments on whether or not to step in and temporarily pause the sell-or-ban legislation given what TikTok claims is a violation of free speech for its tens of millions of American users.
The legislation being challenged, which overwhelmingly passed Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden last year, is designed to force the popular app’s Chinese owners, ByteDance, to sell it over fears China’s government could use its data to manipulate or harm Americans.
Countries like India have taken similar action against TikTok.
China has likewise banned several massive U.S. platforms, like Facebook, Google and YouTube.
TikTok has pushed back, criticizing the sell-or-ban legislation as “conceived and pushed through based on inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people.”
Incoming President Donald Trump has pushed for a pause to the new law as well, filing a brief about it before the high court urging that he be given time to “resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
If TikTok is not sold by its owner, ByteDance — or be “divested” and then bought by a non-“foreign adversary,” in the language of the new law — then it will become illegal on Jan. 19 for internet services in the U.S. to support or distribute it.
TikTok has called that a “total ban.”
“We go dark,” TikTok attorney Noel Francisco told the Supreme Court justices last week, “Essentially, the platform shuts down.”
However, in practice, the app will not magically disappear from users’ phones after the deadline.
Instead, the law would force the app to be removed from app stores (like through Apple or Google) and make it inaccessible through internet browsers in America. New users would not be able to access or download TikTok.
If TikTok or other internet companies violated the law, they could face giant financial penalties.
People who still have TikTok as an app on their phone could potentially access its content after Jan. 19, but the app would not be updated over time and would be expected to become more difficult to use.
“Personally for me, it’s too overwhelming to think about,” TikTok creator Lexi Larson recently told PEOPLE of the looming ban. “It’s gonna be kind of starting from scratch, which I’m not excited about.”
