A Skeptical Supreme Court Weighs TikTok’s Future in the U.S.

In a case with far-reaching implications for the future of social media, the Supreme Court today reviewed the oral arguments on a federal law that could force TikTok to shut down in the US in about nine days unless the app cuts ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The oral arguments lasted almost three hours.

The Court examined two consolidated cases challenging the law – one brought by TikTok and ByteDance, and another brought by TikTok content creators. At the heart of the case is a clash between TikTok’s defense of freedom of expression and the national security concerns raised by the feds.

Arguing on behalf of TikTok was Noel Francisco, with Jeffrey Fisher representing the content creators. Elizabeth Prelogar appeared for the government.

The judges appeared skeptical of TikTok’s arguments, questioning how their First Amendment rights apply when the law specifically targets foreign company ByteDance and its algorithm. Meanwhile, they pressed the government on their central argument – that the problem lies in the national security risk of the Chinese government’s “secret” manipulation of user content and data collection.

The court is likely to rule by the end of next week, with the decision impacting nearly 170 million American users who use the app.

Here are the key moments from today’s hearing.

Selling TikTok is not possible

Justice Elena Kagan pressed TikTok’s Francisco on why TikTok could not divest from ByteDance, pointing out that the statute only requires the foreign company to divest, leaving TikTok to “do what any actor in the United States can do, which is to find the best available algorithm”.