SCOTUS hears arguments over government’s right to ban TikTok | WORLD
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SCOTUS hears arguments over government’s right to ban TikTok


A TikTok logo Associated Press / Richard Vogel, file

SCOTUS hears arguments over government’s right to ban TikTok

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Friday discussing whether a law that could result in a U.S. ban on Chinese-owned social media company TikTok violates the First Amendment. The federal government has ordered TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest itself of the social media company or else see the app banned in the United States. Attorney Noel Francisco argued that while TikTok’s parent company could be influenced by the Chinese government, TikTok still had rights under the First Amendment as what he characterized as a U.S.-based company.

Jeffrey Fisher, who represented an American TikTok creator Brian Firebaugh, argued that the ban on the social media company also violated the First Amendment rights of people who post content on the website. Fisher said the federal government’s potential ban on TikTok was focused on countering speech coming from China, where TikTok’s parent company is based. Fisher said such a ban on foreign speech would defy American tradition, history and case precedent.

What did the government have to say? U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar on Friday defended the government’s right to ban TikTok, saying it sought to protect U.S. national security and Americans’ private data. No one disputed that the Chinese government could weaponize TikTok against the United States, Prelogar said. If ByteDance divested itself of TikTok, Americans could still express their First Amendment rights on the platform, Prelogar insisted. Conversely, if ByteDance refused to divest itself of TikTok, the U.S. government has the ability to protect its security by banning the app, she added.


Josh Schumacher

Josh is a breaking news reporter for WORLD. He’s a graduate of World Journalism Institute and Patrick Henry College.


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