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Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban Starting January 19, 2025, Over ByteDance Ownership

Jan 19, 2025, 09:30 PM

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal law banning TikTok unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the app to a U.S. owner. This decision follows years of scrutiny over TikTok's potential national security risks, including concerns about data privacy, its ties to the Chinese government, and its pandemic-driven popularity. ByteDance had challenged the law, arguing it violated free speech rights, but the Court ruled that the national security risks outweighed these concerns. TikTok, which merged with Musical.ly in 2017 and became a global trendsetter, has faced multiple controversies, including allegations of censorship and data misuse. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring the sale or banning of TikTok, and despite ByteDance's efforts to host U.S. user data on Oracle servers, concerns persisted. The ban, set to take effect on January 19, 2025, has led to TikTok being removed from app stores and becoming inaccessible in the U.S. The app, which had 170 million U.S. users, has also been criticized for its potential use as a propaganda tool by the Chinese Communist Party. President-elect Donald Trump has signaled a possible intervention, but ByteDance has stated it will comply with the ban unless definitive assurances are provided.