The United States defines whether to ban TikTok on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration

The United States Supreme Court agreed this Wednesday to examine the appeal of the social network TikTok to a law that would force ByteDance, its Chinese owner, to sell the popular video-sharing platform as a condition of maintaining its activity in the country. The highest judicial body scheduled the arguments in the case for January 10just a dozen days before Donald Trump’s formal return to the White House.

However, the Court did not suspend the entry into force of the law, as the company intended. Thus, the regulations are expected to come into effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration. The law was already signed in April by the outgoing president, Joe Biden. It would block TikTok from app stores in the United States unless ByteDance fulfills the sale by the date in question.

Congress approved it arguing that it seeks to prevent espionage and manipulation risks of users by the Chinese authorities.

In the face of these speculations, the social network insistently denied having transmitted information to Beijing and asserted that the law violates its rights to freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment of the North American Constitution.

“Congress has approved a widespread restriction and unprecedented freedom of expression,” said in a document sent to the Court TikTok, which currently boasts of having more than 170 million users in the United States.

If the law comes into force, the AFP news agency indicated, it would shut down one of the most popular expression platforms in the United States the day before a presidential inauguration, the text added. “This, in turn, will silence the voices of the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, art and other issues of concern,” the statement continued.

In addition, he stated that the company itself, “as well as countless small businesses that depend on the platform, will also suffer substantial and irrecoverable monetary and competitive damages.”

A TikTok spokesperson said the company is “satisfied” with Wednesday’s order from the Supreme Court.

“We believe that the Court will consider unconstitutional ban TikTok so that the more than 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights,” the company spokesperson said.

The potential ban could strain relations between the United States and China just before Donald Trump’s inauguration, on January 20.

In this regard, in a press conference last Monday, Trump said he has a “weakness” for this social network and that his government would study the issue.

The Republican became an unexpected ally of TikTok, because he believes that its ban would mainly benefit giants like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram, among other networks).

Trump’s stance reflected broader criticism from conservatives against Meta, which they accuse of suppressing right-wing content. Trump’s current vision is different from his first term, when he tried to ban TikTok over security concerns.