Does the Federal Law Banning TikTok Unless It Is Sold Violate the First Amendment?
TikTok, a social media platform that allows the creation and sharing of short videos, was originally launched in China in September 2016. Owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok was released internationally a year later. Since then, it has grown into one of the most popular social media companies in the world, with more than 170 million users in the United States alone. TikTok’s foreign ownership and massive popularity have led to concerns in the U.S. that the Chinese government could access the vast amount of user data the company possesses as well as use its influence to alter the service’s algorithm to promote Chinese political interests. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a legislative package that included a ban on TikTok in the United States if ByteDance did not sell the service to a non-Chinese company by Jan. 19, 2025. TikTok and its parent company filed suit against the United States, alleging that the ban infringed on their constitutionally protected freedom of speech. After a federal appeals court ruled that the law was valid, TikTok appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and an expedited review on Dec. 18. The following is excerpted from the Brief for Petitioners as submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 27, 2024.
