UPDATE: Dec. 18, 2024, 11:36 a.m. EST The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear challenges regarding the TikTok ban.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has officially appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the impending TikTok ban, which is set to impact the popular social media platform as January approaches. TikTok has also made its case for intervention, prompting the Supreme Court’s response.
“The Constitution imposes an extraordinarily high bar on mass censorship. The Supreme Court should hear this significant case to protect the rights of millions of Americans to express themselves and connect with others globally,” stated the deputy director of ACLU’s National Security Project in their appeal. The amicus brief was submitted by the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and a prominent First Amendment institute.
On Dec. 18, the U.S. Supreme Court formally accepted the challenges filed by TikTok and its parent company, with oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10.
TikTok and its advocates assert that the proposed ban violates the First Amendment rights to free speech. The company has consistently denied any ties to Chinese government intelligence or the sharing of American users’ data, which is the primary rationale behind the government’s push for TikTok’s divestment from its Chinese ownership.
Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the ban, signed by President Biden in April, is set to take effect on Jan. 19. TikTok had the option to divest from ByteDance to comply with the law and avert a complete ban but has resisted any sale while awaiting a court ruling. Recently, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals denied TikTok’s request for an emergency injunction that would delay the enforcement of the ban, citing national security interests to justify the government’s decision.
The ACLU and its affiliates contended that the Appeals Court’s reasoning was flawed. “The D.C. Circuit did not adequately address the law’s significant implications for the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans who use TikTok,” they stated. “While the lower court recognized that the statute activates First Amendment scrutiny, it failed to consider users’ rights to communicate and share information on the platform.” The ACLU criticized the Appeals Court for mistakenly framing the government’s TikTok ban as a protection of users’ First Amendment rights.
The ACLU maintains that the TikTok ban infringes on federally protected rights, including the right to free speech, labeling the forced sale as “unconstitutional” in a statement made in March. Earlier, the organization described a ban on any social media platform as “a dangerous act of censorship.”
“Restricting access to foreign media is a practice historically associated with oppressive regimes,” remarked a leading executive from a prominent First Amendment institute. “We must remain cautious about allowing this practice to take hold in our country.”
