Banned from Sunday? Tiktok loses before the US Supreme Court

SDA

17.1.2025 - 16:17

Tiktok has failed before the US Supreme Court in its last-minute attempt to have the impending ban overturned. (archive image)
Tiktok has failed before the US Supreme Court in its last-minute attempt to have the impending ban overturned. (archive image)
Bild: Keystone

The video app Tiktok has lost its battle against the law on change of ownership in the US before the Supreme Court. The law did not violate freedom of speech, the judges ruled.

Keystone-SDA

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Tiktok has lost its battle against the US Change of Ownership Act before the Supreme Court.
  • This means that Tiktok would theoretically have to be removed from the American app stores of Apple and Google when the deadline for the sale expires on Sunday.
  • However, the US government is arguing for a postponement.

The video app Tiktok has lost its battle against the law on change of ownership in the US before the Supreme Court. With the decision, Tiktok would theoretically have to leave the American app stores of Apple and Google when the deadline for the sale expires on Sunday and lose access to the infrastructure. However, the current government and future President Donald Trump have already signaled that Tiktok should be given a reprieve instead of having to close down immediately in the US.

The app claims to have more than 170 million users in the USA.

White House shows itself to be pliable

"Americans should not expect Tiktok to suddenly be banned on Sunday," an anonymous government representative told the TV station NBC. Options for the corresponding implementation of the law are being examined. The White House was even clearer on ABC: the deadline expires on a weekend on the day before the inauguration of the new president - "and it will be up to the next administration to enforce it".

Biden can extend the deadline for Tiktok by three months by law. However, the prerequisite for this is that there are promising sales negotiations - and Tiktok and Bytedance have so far refused to talk about a separation at all. However, the White House is signaling that Tiktok headlines should not overshadow Biden's last days in office.

Trump wants more time for a deal

Trump's camp is also already sounding out the legal leeway. "We're going to take steps to make sure that Tiktok doesn't go out," Trump's future National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News. This should give Trump more time to strike a deal.

Trump also raised the issue of Tiktok in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. A further sign of how highly the platform now ranks in Trump's favor: according to media reports, Tiktok boss Shou Chew will sit in the gallery at Trump's inauguration on Monday, as will the heads of the major American tech companies.

Security concerns in the USA

Tiktok belongs to the Bytedance Group, which has its headquarters in China. There are warnings in the US that the Chinese government could gain access to US users' data and organize influence campaigns on the platform.

For this reason, Bytedance must separate from Tiktok in accordance with a US law on foreign control of online platforms. The 270-day deadline set for this expires on January 19. Tiktok rejects the accusations. At the same time, it says that a separation from Bytedance would be technically difficult or even impossible.

Tiktok is preparing to pull the plug itself on Sunday, the tech website "The Information" reported a few days ago, citing informed persons. Without such a step, the app would presumably only gradually lose its functionality due to the loss of access to infrastructure such as data centers.

Skeptical judges

Tiktok appealed to the US Supreme Court in the hope of at least obtaining a stay. At a hearing last week, however, the judges were not convinced by the argument that the law violates the freedom of speech enshrined in the US Constitution. They have now come to the conclusion that the security concerns outweigh this.

Although Tiktok always emphasizes that Bytedance is majority-owned by international investors, the parent company's headquarters in Beijing means that it also has to comply with the requirements of the authorities. The government also has a say in the sale: This is because the algorithm that selects videos for users was developed in China. And Beijing has banned the transfer of such software without special permission.