The recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold a federal law that could lead to the ban of TikTok has caused quite a stir. With the deadline for the Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. to sell the platform looming, TikTok went dark briefly on January 18. However, it has since been restored following claims from President-elect Donald J. Trump that he intends to pause the ban by executive order on his first day in office.
Trump took to Truth Social to announce his plans to issue an executive order to extend the period before the law’s prohibitions take effect, allowing for negotiations to protect national security. He also mentioned a proposal for the United States to have a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture with TikTok.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, TikTok remains unavailable for download in major app stores as ByteDance has refused to sell despite pressure from investors. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the law on Friday, citing national security concerns over First Amendment rights. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law, but has not enforced it as of yet.
This ongoing saga between the U.S. government and TikTok dates back to Trump’s presidency, when he first threatened to ban the platform. Biden, upon taking office, revoked Trump’s ban and ordered an investigation into TikTok’s potential threats to national security. The issue of data privacy and security has been a major concern, leading to Oracle Cloud being utilized to store U.S. user data.
In the latest development, Biden signed a bipartisan bill giving ByteDance six months to sell its stake in TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. TikTok has filed lawsuits to block this law, arguing it impinges on free speech rights. However, the court has maintained that divestiture is necessary to address national security concerns surrounding TikTok’s data practices.
Source link
