US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, gives deadline for shutdown

• Published On: 17 January 2025 at 18:41

The US Supreme Court upheld legislation requiring a nationwide ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, divests ownership of the platform by this Sunday.

TikTok had challenged the law, claiming that it violated the free speech rights of its more than 170 million U.S. users. However, the Court rejected this argument, leaving the company with a choice: sell the US version of the app to an approved buyer or face removal from app stores and loss of web hosting services.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration are reportedly discussing options for a possible reprieve. TikTok has been labelled a national security threat by US officials, who are concerned about its alleged ties to the Chinese government. ByteDance has repeatedly denied sharing user data with Beijing.

The legislation, which passed last year with bipartisan support, establishes a January 19 deadline for TikTok's sale to a neutral party. If the sale does not occur, Apple and Google will stop offering the app to new users and providing security updates, potentially crippling the platform.

Despite the impending deadline, ByteDance has stated that it will not sell TikTok.