The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to consider TikTok’s claim that a looming federal government ban is a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment protecting free speech. The court will hear arguments against the ban on Jan. 10, just 10 days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and 9 days before the law banning the popular social media app is scheduled to take effect, CNBC reported.
TikTok sued the federal government over a ban that was passed in Congress with bipartisan support earlier this year and signed into law by President Joe Biden in April. The ban requires parent company ByteDance to sell off TikTok to an American copmany. TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. Trump has expressed support for TikTok and on the day of the meeting.
"We’ll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he said, insisting that his younger supporters had used the app to support his reelection.
On Dec. 6 the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the federal government’s ban on TikTok over concerns with national security. To avoid the ban of the app, Chinese company ByteDance would be required to divest itself from TikTok.
