The end of TikTok is near: a dramatic development in the US Supreme Court

Blocking Tik Tok in the US may come true soon: The US Supreme Court hints at a real possibility of approving the law banning TikTok’s activity in the US, due to security concerns related to its Chinese ownership. During hearings that lasted more than two hours, most of the justices expressed a position supporting the restriction of the app, which is supported by Congress.

The law, which is expected to enter into force on January 19, requires the Chinese company ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell its operations in the United States or stop the operation of the application. The Attorney General of the Biden administration, Elizabeth Perluger, claimed in the hearings that an application like TikTok, which serves 170 million users In the US, it may be used as a tool by China for espionage, recruitment and even extortion.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh noted the fear of collecting data on teenagers and young users, who may in the future play sensitive roles in intelligence organizations or government. “We are talking about information that can be used to exploit and blackmail key people in the future,” he said.

TikTok argued that the ban infringes on free speech protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution, but many judges have expressed doubts about whether this claim is relevant. The President of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, said that the law does not harm the expression itself, but is aimed at preventing the collection of information by a “foreign enemy”. Judge Elena Kagan agreed with his words and added that “the law focuses on a foreign corporation, which does not enjoy rights according to the First Amendment.”

Despite the strong positions of most of the judges, Judge Neil Gorsuch expressed concerns about the implications of the ban. “Typically we tend to assume that the best way to deal with problematic speech is counter-speech,” he said, suggesting that warnings to users rather than an outright ban might have been in order.

The court hearings did not ignore the influence of Donald Trump, the president-elect, who filed a request to postpone the law’s entry into force, in order to try to reach an agreement with TikTok. Despite claims by Perloger that the court could grant a reprieve, she warned against a situation where a company would blatantly ignore the law by relying on promises of lax enforcement from the new administration.

The ruling could change the face of TikTok use in the US, with far-reaching implications for users and content creators. While the law highlights security concerns, its effects on free speech and technology are still up for debate. The Supreme Court’s decision will be closely watched, as it could set a precedent for cases similar in the future.