The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments next month on the constitutionality of a federal law that could bar TikTok from operating in the United States unless it is sold by the Chinese umbrella company.
Court members will hear arguments Jan. 10 on whether the law impermissibly limits free speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law, passed in April, sets a deadline of January 19 for the sale of the network, or else it will be banned in the United States.
The popular social networking platform has more than 170 million users in the United States. It is not clear when a decision might be made. However, the Supreme Court can act after arguments are presented to block the law from going into effect pending a final decision, if at least five of the nine members of the court think the law is unconstitutional.
Lawyers for TikTok and its Chinese umbrella company, ByteDance, have asked the judges to act before the January 19 deadline. The Supreme Court will also hear testimony from netizens, some of whom use the platform for a living.
The argument date means the Justice Department of the outgoing President Biden administration will defend the law signed in April by President Biden and passed by Congress with bipartisan support. The Republican administration, which takes office on January 20, may not share the same views on the law.
The new president, Donald Trump, who once supported banning the network, promised during the campaign that he would "save" TikTok and that his administration would look into the situation. On Monday, Mr. Trump hosted the head of the TikTok network, Shou Zi Che, at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The companies have said that a shutdown of just one month would cause the loss of about a third of network users in the United States and significant advertising revenue.
The case pits free speech rights against the government's stated goals of protecting national security, while raising new issues about social media platforms.
A panel of federal appeals court judges unanimously upheld the law on Dec. 6, while rejecting an emergency request to delay the law's implementation.
If the court does not act, the law will take effect on January 19 and would penalize companies that provide the TikTok network service. Law enforcement is a priority of the Department of Justice, which can investigate potential violations and seek penalties.
But lawyers for the TikTok network and parent company ByteDance have argued that the Justice Department under President Trump could halt enforcement of the law or seek to mitigate the law's more severe consequences. Mr. Trump takes the US presidency one day after the law is due to take effect. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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