A historic decision
This Friday January 17, 2025, the nine justices of the Supreme Court estimated that the law adopted in April 2024, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to another owner under penalty of ban, does not contravene the First Amendment of the American Constitution. As a reminder, the latter guarantees freedom of expression.
In their decision, they recognized the cultural and social impact of TikTok, which has more than 170 million active users in the United States. TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive means of expression, a means of engagement and a source of community
.
However, national security concerns took precedence over everything else. According to US lawmakers, TikTok’s data collection practices, combined with its close ties to the Chinese government, pose a strategic threat. The transfer of the application is therefore judged necessary
to protect the personal information of American citizens.
48 hours to act
The law, which will come into force this Sunday, January 19, 2025, gives ByteDance less than forty-eight hours to comply with the transfer requirement. If no sales agreement is reached by then, TikTok could be banned in the United States, marking a turning point in the technological war between the United States and China.
-This decision will necessarily spark intense debate. On the one hand, defenders of the law welcome a step forward in protecting national interests from the risks posed by foreign companies. On the other hand, criticism is already coming out to denounce an attack on freedom of expression and an excessive politicization of technological relations between the two countries.
For TikTok and ByteDance, this decision represents unprecedented pressure. The company has not yet commented on the Supreme Court’s ruling, but it may challenge the ban or try to make a last-minute sale. The future of TikTok in the United States therefore remains uncertain. But for millions of Americans, this decision could mean the end of a platform that has become essential in the global digital landscape. There finally remains another unknown, an intervention by Donald Trump!
In any case, this decision is limited to the USA for the moment. But it could give ideas to other countries. If the platform did not comply on time, what would happen? Apple and Google could well be forced to remove the applications from their respective stores…
