NewStats: 3,260,908 , 8,172,886 topics. Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 12:24 AM 6n5v7

The Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, rejecting the social media company’s First Amendment challenge to the law that effectively bans it in the United States starting on Sunday.

The unanimous decision may deal a death blow to the U.S. operations of the wildly popular app, which serves up short-form videos that are a leading source of information and entertainment to 170 million Americans, especially younger ones.

“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,” the decision said. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-ed national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.

President Biden signed the law last spring after it ed Congress with wide bipartisan . Lawmakers said the app’s ownership represented a risk because the Chinese government’s oversight of private companies allows it to retrieve sensitive information about Americans or to spread covert disinformation or propaganda.

Although TikTok’s lawyer told the justices last week that the app would “go dark” if it lost the case, it was not clear how quickly a shutdown would play out. At a minimum, app store operators like Apple and Google will face significant penalties imposed by the law if they distribute and update the TikTok app.

The decision was delivered on an exceptionally abbreviated schedule. The justices heard arguments last Friday, and a majority of them appeared satisfied with the government’s position that the law was aimed not at TikTok’s speech rights but rather at its ownership. Noel J. Francisco, a lawyer for TikTok, did not dispute the security risks but argued that the government could address them through other means rather than effectively ordering the app to “go dark.”

Powered by a sophisticated algorithm that provides entertainment and information touching on nearly every facet of American life, TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon. As the justices heard arguments on Friday, some TikTok creators streamed the live courtroom audio, answered questions and expressed fear of a ban.

Here’s what to know:

A cultural juggernaut: TikTok gained a foothold in American culture in 2020 as a pandemic curiosity and swiftly grew into an undeniable juggernaut. About one-third of U.S. adults say they use TikTok, and that number jumps to 59 percent for adults under 30, according to Pew Research. The app has given rise to a new crop of celebrities and fueled chart-topping books, music and movies. The app has also increasingly become a source of news, helping shape conversation around the Israel-Hamas war and last year’s U.S. presidential election.

The arguments: The government offered two rationales for the law on Friday: combating covert disinformation from China and barring it from harvesting private information about Americans. The court was divided over the first justification, but several justices seemed troubled by the possibility that China could use data culled from the app for espionage or blackmail.

A bipartisan bill: Regulating TikTok was one of the rare topics that U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle united on last year. The law went from publicly introduced to signed by Mr. Biden in about seven weeks, earning it the nickname “Thunder Run” on Capitol Hill. The legislative effort got underway soon after Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, testified to Congress about the video app’s ties to China in March 2023.

SOURCE

SUPREME COURT RULED 9-0 TO UPHOLD TIKTOK BAN LAW

NewsWire

Elon Musk to the rescue

fergie001:

SOURCE


NewsWire

aah na dem online BROTHEL....
OS must be running HELTER SKELTER by now

You can't win by using the courts to kill competition

Nice decision.

Like Huawei and the race to global 5G supremacy, US cannot stand any Chinese corporation getting ahead...

Toor

😮

Why the heavy crackdown on TikTok after all the saga. TikTok should just move elsewhere. The language is clear already

I U.S on this..


Yes, I have 36k followers on TikTok.

But, truth be told. The Chinese cannot have their free way in the United States.

All American social media apps are banned in China, but China wants there own app to operate free in the United States.

Awesome 👏👏👏

If the U.S bans TikTok. That’s the beginning of the end for TikTok.


U.S government ban means, No more TikTok available for on the Google play store and the App Store.

It will mostly affects all IPhone s worldwide, while it will slightly affects android s..

The Asian dragon 🐉 has come to stay...

China's statue as a superpower has come to stay... There's nothing the United States of Perverts can do about it.

fergie001:

SOURCE



NewsWire

It’s about national security, not competition. China doesn’t allow U.S. apps to operate freely within its borders, so why should Chinese apps be allowed to operate in America? The concern is over data security and potential risks, especially when the Chinese government has control over private companies, potentially exposing sensitive American data or spreading misinformation.

WhiteIverson:
Elon Musk to the rescue

Tiktok revolution will happen in USA.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans will protest against this, and then something else will follow after.

Na lazy people dey use social media apps to make a living. Them go dey call emselves celebrities

THE FEAR OF CHINESE. YOUR SHU SHAN SHUN SHINE

Fugitive:
Nice decision.

The TikTok owner is not smart 🧠 at all..

Sell the company, to a USA firm, buy shares in the firm

Use the money and start another platform.

Facebook is banned in China 🇨🇳

If TikTok is banned in America

People will naturally move to other platforms

Who will lose TikTok owner...

See the way is his flocking around Trump because he knows only Trump can save him app

Americans should vote against this ban, after all they're democracy

Nigeria dey for put bribe in front and start accusing the people for failing to adhere to tiktok rules

The time to sell is very short

Interesting days ahead

Lol Dem go dey manage OnlyFan nd Pornhubbb

Strange

Na only me no dey tiktok

The free market

Hypocrites. The joke write themselves.

Way to go....

Quelme:
The Asian dragon 🐉 has come to stay...

China's statue as a superpower has come to stay... There's nothing the United States of Perverts can do about it.

Not happening soon..
[img src= ‘’https://nairaland.unblockandhide.com/%0Aattachments/%0A19019507_img4441_jpeg_jpeg21f68%0A092fa6990b1f66357d236420816’’ ]

It might be hard but TikTok would have to move forward without the American market. Americans hate competition. TikTok is giving YouTube a heavy blow and YouTube is an American app.

DMerciful:
You can't win by using the courts to kill competition

It is about national security not competition.

poor people are the best in advices

SpatialKing:


The TikTok owner is not smart 🧠 at all..

Sell the company, to a USA firm, buy shares in the firm

Use the money and start another platform