Unanimous Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Divestment Law
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok, citing Congress’ “well-supported national security concerns.”
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After oral argument Friday, the court in its “expedited" decision said TikTok’s “scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns.”
Free speech standards are satisfied because the regulation “promotes a substantial government interest that would be achieved less effectively absent the regulation” and it does not “burden substantially more speech than is necessary.”
The court said TikTok offers a “distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community” for 170 million users in America, but Congress “has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
TikTok didn’t immediately comment. ByteDance attorney Noel Francisco argued Friday that Congress could have passed a less restrictive law banning the company from sharing sensitive data with ByteDance or China. The law's divestment deadline goes into effect Sunday.