this Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear arguments from all sides Tik Tok a law that could lead to mass bans social media applications Violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of free speech.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on Jan. 10, nine days before the law, formally known as the Foreign Adversary Control Application Act, takes effect.
The law would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app or force Google, appleand other platforms stopped supporting the app in the United States.
Congress passed the law amid concerns that TikTok’s Chinese ownership posed national security risks.
TikTok said that if the app is banned, U.S. small businesses that use TikTok for marketing will lose more than $1 billion in revenue in the month after the ban takes effect, while people who use the app to make videos will lose nearly $300 million. income.
The Supreme Court announced it would hear TikTok’s appeal, two days after the company filed a petition seeking an injunction against the law that takes effect next month.
In its order, the court directed the company and the Justice Department to conduct briefings and arguments on whether the laws applicable to TikTok “violate the First Amendment.”
TikTok said in its request to the court that “Congress’ unprecedented attempt to single out applicants and bar them from operating one of the country’s most important speech platforms raises serious constitutional questions that this court may not allow to stand.” .
TikTok did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Wednesday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law on Dec. 6, ruling that the Justice Department “presented persuasive evidence that the divestment law “was specifically designed to protect national security.”
President-elect Donald Trump TikTok executive Shou Zi Chew met with the TikTok CEO at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, the same day the company asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters, “We will look at TikTok” when asked about a potential ban.
“You know, I have a warm place in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said, suggesting the app boosted support for him among young voters during the November election.
One of Trump’s top supporters, Jeff Yass, is the co-founder and managing director of Susquehanna International Group, a significant investor in ByteDance.
– CNBC Lola Kolodny contributed to this article.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
