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Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 10 will hear arguments brought by TikTok and several of its users asking the justices to block a law that could ban the social media site in the U.S.
- A law passed this year requires TikTok’s parent, China’s ByteDance, to sell the site by Jan. 19.
- The government calls TikTok a national security threat because it provides the Chinese government with information on Americans, an accusation TikTok denies.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear next month a petition by TikTok and several of its users to block a federal law that requires it to be sold by its Chinese parent ByteDance in order to keep operating in the country.
The high court ordered TikTok and the Justice Department to electronically file opening briefs by Dec. 27, and reply briefs by Jan. 3. It withheld ruling on the company’s request for an injunction until oral arguments take place. Those are now scheduled for Jan. 10.
The social media site appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court in Washington, D.C., upheld the ban, which is set to take effect Jan. 19 unless ByteDance divests the popular site. In that decision on Dec. 6, the three-judge panel agreed with the government that TikTok is a potential threat to national security.
U.S. officials have accused TikTok of being used by the Chinese government to collect data on Americans. The company denies that, and argues that banning it would be a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
