Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds TikTok Divest-or-Ban Law: January 19 Deadline Stands
On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Washington, D.C., ruled unanimously in TikTok, Inc. v. Garland (Nos. 24-656 and 24-657), upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act and rejecting the First Amendment challenge brought by TikTok and a group of its creators.
Under the Act, as of January 19 it became unlawful for companies in the United States to distribute, maintain or update TikTok unless its U.S. operation is severed from Chinese control. TikTok's parent is the Chinese company ByteDance. The Act passed Congress by wide bipartisan margins, was signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024, and gave ByteDance 270 days to complete a qualified divestiture.
In its unsigned per curiam opinion, the Court wrote: "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. 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 Court treated the Act as content-neutral on its face, applied intermediate scrutiny, and held that the government's data-collection justification alone was sufficient to sustain the challenged provisions, without needing to rule on the second rationale concerning covert manipulation of the recommendation algorithm. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch each filed concurring opinions.
The case was heard on an expedited schedule: the Court heard argument on January 10 and ruled a week later. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had upheld the Act on December 6, 2024. Under the statutory timetable, the divestiture deadline was January 19, with an extension of up to 90 days available if a divestiture was in progress.
Related: Federal Appeals Court Upholds TikTok Divestiture Law\n\n(Source: Supreme Court of the United States)
Source: Supreme Court of the United States
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿特区的美国最高法院大楼正面，楣额刻有「法律之下人人平等」。（Claire Anderson 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: The front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., inscribed "Equal Justice Under Law." (Photo by Claire Anderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
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