SCOTUS Unanimously Upholds TikTok Ban

The Supreme Court upheld legislation to ban Chinese-owned TikTok as constitutional in a Friday ruling.

“Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” reads the court’s ruling. “For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.”

Congress passed a bill to ban TikTok and any other “foreign adversary controlled applications” in April, and President Joe Biden signed it into law. But TikTok Inc., under Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., sued Attorney General Merrick Garland, alleging the ban violated the company’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech. 

But the Supreme Court unanimously ruled “per curiae” Friday morning that Congress’ legislation is constitutional — enabling the ban to take effect Sunday. However, it enables the president to “grant a one-time extension of no more than 90 days” if he “makes certain certifications to Congress regarding progress toward a qualified divestiture,” to ensure the app is “no longer being controlled by a foreign adversary.”

Plaintiffs including TikTok Inc. argued the bill’s “TikTok-specific foreign adversary controlled application designation” and “divestiture requirement” violate the First Amendment. But the Supreme Court noted the ban is “content neutral” and its provisions “do not target particular speech.” 

The court even went so far as to point out TikTok’s substantial threat to national security. Its parent company ByteDance Ltd. “owns TikTok’s proprietary algorithm, which is developed and maintained in China,” according to the ruling, and is “responsible for developing portions of the source code.” 

“ByteDance Ltd. is subject to Chinese laws that require it to ‘assist or cooperate’ with the Chinese Government’s ‘intelligence work’ and to ensure that the Chinese Government has ‘the power to access and control private data’ the company holds,” the ruling reads. 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., referred to TikTok as “a communist spy app.”

ByteDance “negotiated with Executive Branch officials to develop a national security agreement that would resolve those concerns” from 2021 to 2022, the court wrote, but “officials ultimately determined, however, that ByteDance Ltd.’s proposed agreement did not adequately ‘mitigate the risks posed to U. S. national security interests.’”

The bill prescribes enforcement such as “civil penalties” and “actions by attorney general.” 

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.