Supreme Court backs TikTok ban: App set to shut down Sunday
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Law passed by Congress forces TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or banned by Sunday. More than 170 million Americans could lose access to the widely popular social media platform TikTok beginning Sunday after the Supreme Court upheld the law that forces TikTok to divest from its parent company or be banned.
![[The Supreme Court decision comes after lawmakers passed a bill to ban the app citing national security concerns]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/16/15/GettyImages-2081103116.jpg)
The fate of TikTok will now reside with President-elect Donald Trump who takes office on Monday. Trump, who once tried to ban TikTok and advocated for its removal, has turned into an unexpected savior – promising to “save” it. Trump could try to work out a deal with TikTok and ByteDance or could lobby Congress to repeal or amend the legislation to make sure the platform can exist in the U.S. Though, it’s unclear how feasible that is.
![[A TikTok influencer holds a sign that reads “Keep TikTok” outside the U.S. Supreme Court as oral arguments were heard just days ago]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/16/04/GettyImages-2193276846.jpg)
It took the court just one week to decide the case – one of the fastest decision timelines in recent terms. Justices wanted to intervene before the ban took place on January 19. They scheduled oral arguments just three weeks after agreeing to take up the case.
Congress passed a law that required TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or be removed from the U.S. The popular social media app argues that the ban is illegal and violates the First Amendment. The bill signed by President Joe Biden had bipartisan support and lawmakers cited national security concerns when calling for the ban. As a China-based company, ByteDance is required to have a committee of Chinese Communist Party members.
A lawyer for TikTok argued the legislation violated the First Amendment because Congress passed it based on the content posted to the platform – or the potential content that could be pushed on U.S. users. They argued Congress did not consider alternatives to protecting Americans’ data before banning the app.
