A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok, citing Congress’ “well-supported national security concerns.”
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok, citing Congress’ “well-supported national security concerns.”
National security surveillance, First Amendment issues and age-gating will be key privacy and technology policy areas to watch under the incoming administration, said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) staff during a webinar Thursday.
Austrian privacy advocacy group Noyb Thursday sued TikTok, AliExpress, Shein, Temu, WeChat and Xiaomi under the General Data Protection Regulation for unlawfully transferring Europeans' personal data to China. Noyb said four of the companies conceded sending the data to China, and two acknowledged sending it to undisclosed third countries. EU law is clear, the group said: Data transfers are allowed only if the destination country doesn't undermine data protection: "Given that China is an authoritarian surveillance state, companies can't realistically shield EU users' data from access by the Chinese Authorities." The emergence of Chinese apps opens a front for EU data protection law, Noyb said.
New technologies such as the use of pixels have led to a surge -- beginning in 2022 -- of litigation involving older privacy laws because newer legislation lacks a private right of action, privacy lawyers said during a webinar Wednesday.
A kids social media bill requiring age verification cleared the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee with an amendment in a 10-1 vote at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. The bill would prohibit kids 15 years old and younger from accessing social media unless they have parental permission.
Bipartisan, bicameral legislation filed Tuesday seeks a 270-day delay for ByteDance’s Jan. 19 deadline to divest TikTok (see 2501100058). Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J., along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act. “The TikTok ban was rushed through without sufficient consideration of the profound consequences it would have on the 170 million Americans who use the platform,” said Markey. The bill “is a straightforward, one-sentence bill designed to give Congress the time needed to fully assess the implications of this ban.”
A Nebraska state court ruled Friday that it has jurisdiction over TikTok, dismissing the platform's motion to dismiss a child safety case. At the Nebraska District Court of Lancaster County, the state alleged that TikTok misrepresented its safety and suitability for minors, and that its data security and privacy practices violate Nebraska’s consumer protection laws.
Privacy protections might be sidelined during the Trump administration in order to focus on other emerging technology, said Mallory Knodel, founder of the Social Web Foundation, in a Friday piece for TechPolicy.Press.
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Friday it will likely uphold Congress’ TikTok divestment law because the company’s Beijing ties raise legitimate security concerns.