The law, adopted in April, is due to come into force on Sunday, January 19.
AFP
The US Supreme Court unanimously validated on Friday the entry into force of a law threatening the social network TikTok with a ban, but future President Donald Trump asked for time to decide whether to apply it or not.
The decision of the highest American court came just over 36 hours before the limit imposed by Congress on TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese group ByteDance, to sell its subsidiary.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers an important mode of expression, interaction and belonging to a community,” estimated the nine senior magistrates.
“But Congress determined that its divestment was necessary to address its well-founded national security concerns,” they observed.
American elected officials adopted, in April 2024, this law intended to prevent Chinese authorities from accessing the data of users in the United States of the social network or from attempting to manipulate American opinion.
“The size of TikTok and its vulnerability to the control of a foreign adversary, combined with the vast range of data collected by the platform, justify differential treatment,” insisted the judges of the Supreme Court.
“Victory for security”
Several Republican figures welcomed the decision, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke of a “victory for the protection (of personal data) and the security of the American people”.
Asked by AFP, TikTok did not immediately respond.
The law theoretically requires internet providers and application stores to block downloads and updates from midnight on Sunday.
The main ones, contacted by AFP, did not respond.
The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that the application of the law would be spread over time, which raises the question of its very short-term effects.
-The White House estimated that “the application of the law (must) return to the next government, which will take office on Monday,” according to a statement from spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Need time”
Donald Trump has, on several occasions, said he is in favor of the application being preserved in the United States, and had even pleaded to the Supreme Court to this effect, asking it to stay its decision, in vain.
Friday, he stressed that the Court’s decision must be “respected”, but said he “needs time” to rule on the fate of the social network, promising a decision “in the fairly near future”.
The real estate developer discussed the fate of TikTok during a telephone conversation Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A sign of Donald Trump’s openness towards young people’s favorite social network, the boss of TikTok, Shou Chew, is one of the guests of honor for his inauguration ceremony on Monday.
“We are going to put in place measures to prevent TikTok from turning off the lights” in the United States, assured Thursday, on the Fox News channel, the Republican elected to the House of Representatives Mike Waltz, appointed Security Advisor national by Donald Trump.
“The law allows for a postponement if a transaction remains possible,” explained the elected official from Florida. “This will give President Trump time to keep TikTok running.”
“Great uncertainty”
For Mike Waltz, the future head of state intends to preserve the social network while resolving questions relating to possible access by Chinese authorities to the data of American users of TikTok.
ByteDance has so far systematically refused to sell TikTok, even if several American investors have positioned themselves, first and foremost businessman Frank McCourt, ready to put $20 billion on the table.
“Content creators on TikTok are preparing for a possible ban, in a context of great uncertainty,” explains Courtney Spritzer, boss of the digital marketing agency Socialfly, specializing in social networks.
As for advertisers, “some are betting on an extinction (of the platform), while others are more optimistic and think that it will continue after Sunday,” she added.
(afp)
