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TikTok ban at the Supreme Court: Recap

WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court heard arguments Friday over whether TikTok can be banned in the U.S. later this month in a case pitting two major issues − freedom of speech and national security − against each other.

At the end of two and a half hours of questions, the justices appeared ready to uphold a law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell off its U.S. business or face a ban.

Some of the 170 million Americans who use TikTok say the court has never confronted a free speech case that matters to so many people.

The Biden administration defended the law, saying the wildly popular short-form video app is a grave threat because China can use it to gather data on Americans or manipulate content to shape U.S. opinion.

 

TikTok educational influencer Tiffany Cianci livestreams outside the Supreme Court as the court hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., on January 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
TikTok educational influencer Tiffany Cianci livestreams outside the Supreme Court as the court hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., on January 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski, Getty Images

 

Lawyers for TikTok and for a group of TikTok creators argued Friday the law deprives users of their preferred digital publisher, infringing on the right to free expression. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said that as long as TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance, U.S. national security is at risk.

Unless the high court intervenes, Google, Apple and internet providers won't be allowed to make TikTok available after Jan. 19.

Follow along for live coverage and updates.

Group led by billionaire Frank McCourt offers to buy TikTok

Project Liberty, an advocacy group led by billionaire Frank McCourt, said Thursday that it had made a bid to ByteDance to purchase TikTok's U.S. assets.

The group's president, Tomicah Tillemann, said in a statement that the amount of the offer would be kept private "until ByteDance is in a position to review our proposal." But McCourt has previously said he has received verbal commitments totaling up to $20 billion.

McCourt announced the plan to buy TikTok in December and earlier this week, "Shark Tank" host and investor Kevin O'Leary joined in.

If Project Liberty were to acquire TikTok, it would only be the U.S. portion of the platform and would not include TikTok's lucrative algorithm, which China sees as its intellectual property.

−Greta Cross

More: 'Shark Tank' host Kevin O'Leary wants to help buy TikTok. Here's what to know

Some TikTok rivals see small Wall Street gains  

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta and Snapchat owner Snap Inc. ended Friday up 0.8% and 3.6%, respectively, as the benchmark S&P 500 sank 1.5%. Both companies offer their own short-form video platforms that compete with TikTok.  

Alphabet, the company behind Google – which offers its own short-form videos through YouTube shorts – ended the day down 1.1%. 

−Bailey Schulz

More: Facebook owner Meta kills DEI in latest nod to Trump and MAGA movement

TikTok lawyer: Justices understand the stakes

TikTok Attorney Noel Francisco spoke with reporters at the National Press Club.

“We thought that the argument went very well, that justices are extremely engaged," he said. "They fully understand the importance of this case, not only for the American citizens of this country, but for First Amendment law – generally the rights of everybody.”

“We thought that they vigorously questioned both sides. They put us through our paces," said Francisco, who served as U.S. solicitor general during Donald Trump's first term. "But what really came through is that they understand the importance of this case. We're very hopeful of a favorable decision.”

TikTok and a group of TikTok creators want the high court to either overturn the law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell the app's U.S. business, or to postpone the Jan. 19 deadline so the incoming Trump administration can find a compromise that won't force the app to shut down.

−Rebecca Morin

TikTok’s impact on the U.S. economy 

Last year, TikTok issued an economic impact report arguing that it contributed $24.2 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product and supported 224,000 jobs in 2023.  

“TikTok provides an opportunity for (small and midsized businesses) to grow by allowing them to market themselves both organically and/or through investing in paid advertising and creator marketing,” the report reads. 

Reuters in November reported that TikTok's parent company ByteDance valued itself at about $300 billion, but it’s not clear how much the U.S. portion of TikTok's business is worth on its own. 

−Bailey Schulz  

When did Trump change his mind on TikTok? 

After pushing for a TikTok ban during his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump has since argued that he can work to save the app.  

Trump’s change of heart may have stemmed from the app’s use in connecting him to young voters – his account has 14.8 million followers as of Friday. Those with ties the company may have also influenced Trump’s change of heart, as previously reported by USA TODAY. 

Less than two weeks after reportedly meeting with billionaire Jeff Yass, a major conservative donor with financial ties to ByteDance, in March 2024, Trump told CNBC that there are “a lot of good users, a lot of good” on TikTok. Yass' trading firm, Susquehanna International Group, purchased a large stake in ByteDance in 2012.   

In 2020, Trump wrote that Chinese ownership gave Beijing access to "Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage."

−Bailey Schulz 

What makes TikTok’s algorithm so effective?

TikTok has been able to capture roughly 170 million Americans’ attention thanks to its algorithm-fueled “For You" page. 

A 2020 blog post from TikTok said it focuses on various user interactions to decode users’ interests and tailor the app’s feed. This includes likes, shares, follows, and time spent watching; video information such as hashtags; and device settings like language preferences and location.   

The app’s short video format gives it plenty of data to work with. While one YouTube video could take 10 minutes to watch, a TikTok user could scroll through dozens of videos in that same time frame, offering the app's algorithm plenty of input.

“Every new interaction helps the system learn about your interests and suggest content – so the best way to curate your For You feed is to simply use and enjoy the app,” TikTok’s blog post reads.   

TikTok will also occasionally show users content outside of their interests, an “important and intentional component” to the app’s recommendations approach, according to the company.  

TikTok’s approach has received criticism. One December 2022 report from the watchdog group Center for Countering Digital Hate accused the app of pushing harmful content promoting eating disorders and self-harm into young users’ feeds.

−Bailey Schulz

More: Liv Schmidt, the rise of the 'Skinny Influencer' and the danger it poses to youth

Arguments conclude in Supreme Court TikTok ban appeal

Each side has made its case to the nine justices and the high court has adjounred. Lawyers for TikTok will speak to reporters at 3 p.m. Eastern at the National Press Club.

Alito questions temporarily blocking the TikTok ban

Justice Samuel Alito asked whether the court could temporarily block the law, which is scheduled to ban TikTok on Jan. 19.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the court shouldn’t do that unless TikTok was likely to win based on its First Amendment claim of a right to distribute its content. She said it wasn’t just an executive action, but done in concert with bipartisan majorities in Congress.

“I think this court doesn’t have any basis to enter a temporary injunction unless it thinks petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits of the First Amendment claim,” Prelogar said. “To be honest, I think there is no argument to be made that you should find that likely success.” Alito also asked whether the court could administratively halt the law temporarily. Prelogar said she would defer to the justices about whether they have enough time to decide the case, but that both sides were ready to argue the case Friday.

“I think it is in the interest of Congress’ work and our national security to resolve the case and allow the statute to take effect,” Prelogar said.

−Bart Jansen

More: What does 2025 hold? A new president, big trials, space flight and a potential TikTok ban

Sotomayor: TikTok ban would still be valid even if Trump doesn't enforce it

Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out that President-elect Donald Trump, during his first term, tried to require divestiture – even though he now opposes a ban.

She said she’s concerned that a president-elect might choose not to enforce a law, and a company would ignore enforcement. There would still be a violation, she emphasized.

“Whatever the new president does,” Sotomayor said, “doesn’t change that reality for those companies.”

−Maureen Groppe

More:Donald Trump was sentenced, but he already has said he will appeal. Here's how that works

Kavanaugh: Can Trump choose not to enforce the ban?

Justice Brett Kavanaugh probed whether President-elect Donald Trump – who opposes a ban – can choose not to enforce it after he takes office on Jan. 20.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said presidents, in general, have enforcement discretion.

But Apple, Google and any other conduits for the app may not feel that’s enough protection from the law’s stiff penalties, Kavanaugh said.

More:Will TikTok be banned? Billionaire Frank McCourt wants to buy the app. Here's what to know

Prelogar said that’s not necessarily the case.

But she said Trump might want to review all the national security information that has been gathered since he was last in office before deciding whether to enforce the ban.

−Maureen Groppe

Prelogar: ByteDance information sharing ‘eye-opening’

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Biden administration discussed potential limits on ByteDance’s data sharing for years before Congress passed the law to ban it, but found no way to create a true firewall between U.S.-based TikTok and its Chinese-controlled parent.

“That didn’t come across enough in the briefs,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said.

More:Think TikTok or Temu are safe? Cybersecurity expert says think again, delete them now

Prelogar said there are enormous amounts of data flowing between TikTok and ByteDance to keep the algorithm updated about what are the best videos to promote. Under a confidential security agreement that ByteDance proposed, Prelogar said, a wealth of information about Americans goes back to China.

“It’s eye-opening,” Prelogar said. “It creates this gaping vulnerability in the system because once that data is in China, the PRC (People’s Republic of China) can demand that ByteDance turn that data over and keep that assistance secret.”

−Bart Jansen

Justice Department says First Amendment not an issue

Justices Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch both pressed the Justice Department’s attorney on why the government’s concern about China’s content manipulation doesn’t make the law  “content based” – which would implicate the 1st Amendment.

“It’s kind of hard to avoid the word `content,’” Gorsuch said.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said she’s not disputing that the law is related to content. But the 1st Amendment would only come into play if Congress was trying to discriminate against particular subject matters or viewpoints, she said.

“Here, Congress just wants to cut the PRC out of the equation altogether and all the same speech could continue to happen on the platform,” Prelogar said.

Prelogar also emphasized that the law had broad bipartisan support, which is not always the case.

−Maureen Groppe

Roberts asks if China is fueling American arguments through TikTok

Chief Justice John Roberts asked whether the government was saying “ByteDance through TikTok is trying to get Americans to argue with each other?”

“If they do, I’d say they’re winning,” Roberts said to laughter in the court.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said it very well might be true.

“China is a foreign adversary nation that looks for every opportunity it has to weaken the United States and to try to threaten our national security,” Prelogar said. “If it has control over this key communications channel, it’s hard to predict … exactly how it’s going to use that as a tool to harm our interest.”

−Bart Jansen

Government says China disclosure not good enough

Justice Neil Gorsuch pushed the government on why requiring TikTok to disclose that China could manipulate content wouldn’t adequately address its concerns.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said a “generic, generalized disclosure” wouldn’t reasonably put users on notice about when the manipulation is happening.

Does that mean the average American won’t be able to figure out that cat videos can be manipulated by China, Gorsuch asked.

Prelogar responded by comparing the situation to a sign in a store telling customers that one of the million items in that store causes cancer.

“That is not going to put you on notice about what product is actually jeopardizing your health,” she said.

−Maureen Groppe

Alito asks if TikTok’s ‘magical algorithm’ is like a favorite shirt

Justice Samuel Alito asked whether another company could take TikTok’s place if the company went dark, “to take advantage of the very lucrative market.”

“I’m just wondering whether this is like somebody’s attachment to an old article of clothing,” Alito said. “Is there some reason to think only ByteDance has devised this magical algorithm?”

More: Supreme Court Justice Alito spoke to Trump - says they didn't discuss legal cases

Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer for TikTok creators, said they have tried to post on other sites and “fallen dramatically short.”

“I think empirically other companies have been trying for a few years to catch up with TikTok and replicate it and have been very unsuccessful,” Fisher said.

−Bart Jansen

Justice Department calls TikTok a `grave threat’

Lawyers for TikTok and the TikTok creators have completed their arguments. Now it's the Justice Department's turn.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar began her argument by saying TikTok poses a “grave threat” to national security from the People’s Republic of China.

“No one disputes that the PRC seeks to undermine U.S. interest by amassing vast quantities of sensitive data about Americans and by engaging in covert influence operations,” she said.

Acknowledging that millions of Americans enjoy expressing themselves on the platform, Prelogar said the law has a “laser like focus” on that threat by requiring TikTok cut ties with China.

“The First Amendment does not bar Congress from taking that critical and targeted step to protect our nation’s security,” she said.

−Maureen Groppe

TikTok creators could win case for their content: lawyer

Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked if there was any way for the TikTok creators to win the case – because of their concerns about having a place to post their content – even if the company were to lose.

Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer for creators, said it’s possible because the core speech on the platform is the millions of videos posted daily. He said the court has recognized that American listeners have a right to receive information from specific places.

“I think it’s possible,” Jeffrey Fisher said to laughter in the courtroom. “I don’t think we should.”

−Bart Jansen

Gorsuch raises concern about the government’s use of classified information

In one of the few concerns justices have expressed so far about the government’s position, Justice Neil Gorsuch said he worries about the Justice Department using classified information to help make their case about a national security threat.

Because the information is classified, TikTok isn’t able to look at it to counter it.

That issue came up when the appeals court considered the case. But when siding with the government, that court said they did not rely on the classified information.

−Maureen Groppe

Attorney not sure Trump can extend TikTok deadline after taking office

Justice Neil Gorsuch asked if the incoming administration can extend the Jan. 19th deadline once Donald Trump takes office, even if the Supreme Court sides against TikTok.

“Is that possible as you read the law?” Gorsuch asked Jeffrey Fisher, the lawyer for TikTok content providers.

Fisher said he wasn’t sure and said Gorsuch should ask the Justice Department’s attorney, who is up next.

Gorsuch said he plans to do that.

−Maureen Groppe

Even if TikTok closes down, it’s keeping user data: lawyer

Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked whether lawmakers could separate provisions of the legislation between security concerns over data collection and forcing TikTok to discuss its algorithm.

Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer for the creators, criticized the law if the goal was to prevent data sharing.

If the company closes down, “TikTok gets to keep all data,” Fisher said. “It’s a very weird law if you’re just looking at it through a data-security lens. Maybe Congress could do better.”

−Bart Jansen

What would a TikTok ban mean for users? 

A TikTok ban wouldn’t mean the app disappears from current users’ phones on Jan. 19. 

New users in the U.S. would likely no longer be able to download TikTok from app stores, and it would become inaccessible through internet browsers. Current users would no longer be able to download software and security updates, and the app could become unusable over time. 

But there may be ways for users to work around the ban. Content creators on the app have spread videos about using a virtual private network, or VPN, as a way to hide their location to access TikTok.  

−Bailey Schulz

Thomas questions how law hurts TikTok users

Justice Clarence Thomas asked how the law hurt the free speech of TikTok’s users.

“It doesn’t say anything about creators or people who use the site,” Thomas said. “It’s only concerned about the ownership and the concerns that data will be manipulated or there will be other national security problems with someone who is not a citizen of this country."

Jeffrey Fisher, a lawyer representing TikTok creators, said the law regulates their text, images, real time communications and videos. He argued that Congress shouldn’t be able to dictate the ownership of platforms, such as forcing X, formerly known as Twitter, to close if it changed owners

“American creators have the right to work with the publishers of their choice,” Fisher said.

−Bart Jansen

More: What is Lemon8? Social media app grows in popularity but may be banned with TikTok

Listen in: Live Supreme Court arguments on the TikTok ban case

Audio of today’s arguments can be accessed through the Supreme Court’s website.

The arguments are scheduled for two hours but are expected to go longer.

Live Oral Argument Audio

−Maureen Groppe

TikTok content creators’ lawyer: `Mere ideas do not constitute a national security threat’

The lawyer representing content creators on TikTok opened his arguments by telling the justices the creators have the right to use the publisher of their choice.

Americans have long enjoyed the right to work with foreign publishers, Jeffrey Fisher said, calling TikTok the most vibrant speech forum in the U.S.

The government’s concern that China can covertly manipulate content on that forum is not enough to overcome the 1st Amendment issues, he said.

“Mere ideas do not constitute a national security threat,” Fisher said, and restricting speech because it might sow doubt about U.S.  leaders or undermine democracy “are the kinds of things our enemies do.”

“It is not what we do in this country,” he said.

−Maureen Groppe

Kavanaugh: Potential TikTok data sharing ‘huge concern’

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Congress and the president were concerned China is harvesting information about Americans over time to develop spies and blackmail people years from now.

“Is that not a realistic assessment by Congress and the president of the risks here?” Kavanaugh asked.

Noel Francisco, a Tiktok lawyer, said the platform's data is stored on Oracle servers in Virginia. He said the law should be overturned or at least blocked temporarily because Congress didn’t consider alternatives such as "massive penalties" like fining or jailing TikTok workers for data disclosures.

“I’m not disputing the risks,” replied Francisco. “I certainly acknowledge the risk but I think there are lots of reasons why that risk still can’t justify the law.”

Kavanaugh said concerns remain.

“That seems like a huge concern for the future of the country,” Kavanaugh said.

−Bart Jansen

TikTok on Jan 19: `Essentially the platform shuts down’

Asked by Justice Brett Kavanaugh what will happen on Jan. 19 if the law is not blocked, TikTok’s lawyer said the platform will shut down.

“At least as I understand it, we go dark,” Noel Francisco said. “Essentially the platform shuts down.”

After President-elect Trump takes office on Jan. 20, he said, “we might be in a different world.”

Trump has said he thinks he can find another way to address the national security concerns without infringing on 1st Amendment rights.

That’s why, Francisco said, the Supreme Court should at least put the law on hold to “buy everyone some breathing space.”

−Maureen Groppe

Roberts asks for a previous decision that would back up TikTok’s argument

Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back on TikTok’s argument that the government’s interference with the company’s ownership infringes on the expression of other people.

He asked TikTok’s lawyer to point to a previous case where regulating a corporate structure has been treated as a violation of the 1st Amendment.

Francisco said he didn’t have an example at his fingertips. But he said it’s still clear that government telling a company “you have to stop talking unless somebody ese does something” directly affects the company’s speech.

−Maureen Groppe

Kagan: Doesn’t the law target a foreign company?

Justice Elana Kagan pushed TikTok on why the main effects of the law are on TikTok, rather than the parent company ByteDance, which is not protected by the 1st Amendment.

TikTok can still go out and find the best available algorithm if it’s divested from ByteDance, she said.

TikTok’s lawyer said the effects on the American company are not incidental. The company won’t be able to operate in 10 days unless it’s sold. 

Francisco also said ByteDance has 1st Amendment rights when it is operating in the United States, as do TikTok and its users.

−Maureen Groppe

Justice Barrett: Congress concerned about China manipulating TikTok content

Justice Amy Coney Barrett said TikTok’s examples of free speech include the independence to be supportive of China. She said the concern is with covert manipulation of those messages.

“A lot of your examples talk about … the right of an American citizen to repeat what a foreign entity says, or say, ‘I’m hitching my wagon to China. I want to say everything China does,’” Barrett said. “Here the concern is about the covert content manipulation of the algorithm. That is something that ByteDance wants to speak, right?”

Noel Francisco, a TikTok lawyer, said it was ultimately TikTok's choice whether to put content on the platform and he denied that TikTok wants to parrot Chinese propaganda.

“We absolutely resist any kind of content manipulation by China at all,” Francisco said.

−Bart Jansen

Does China control TikTok? `Somebody has to be right.’

Justice Neil Gorsuch said the government and TikTok dispute how much control China has over the company and asked what the record shows.

“Somebody has to be right,” he said.

Francisco said TikTok can choose not to use ByteDance’s algorithm, though that would be a bad business decision.

But if TikTok is being pressured by China to do something nefarious, the company can shut down. That underscores why TikTok, an American company, has First Amendment rights, Francisco said.

−Maureen Groppe

TikTok lawyer says nation’s history of preventing foreign control of media not relevant

Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked whether the justices should consider the long history of the government preventing foreign control of media, one of the considerations cited by an appeals court judge who earlier sided with the government.

Francisco said that’s not important in this case because previous restrictions were tied to the limited number of broadcasting licenses available. There’s no scarcity on the internet, he said.

−Maureen Groppe

Thomas: What is TikTok’s speech?

The case turns at least in part on whether TikTok has a First Amendment right to keep operating, so Justice Clarence Thomas asked “exactly what is TikTok’s speech here?”

Thomas asked why a restriction on ByteDance, a Chinese company, represents a limit on TikTok.

Noel Francisco, a former solicitor general representing TikTok, said it is the algorithm that decides what is the best mix of content for its users. Losing the ByteDance algorithm thorugh a sale of TikTok, would limit the app's ability to serve its users.

“That’s a direct burden on TikTok’s speech,” Francisco said.

--Bart Jansen

Young people ponder a post-TikTok world 

Nora Miller, 20, walked to the Supreme Court with a gaggle of Drake University students before the sun came up this morning for a shot at witnessing history. The case, Miller said, has been a constant topic of conversation among people her age.  

But her classmate, Olivia Swaney, said the prospect of TikTok vanishing on Jan. 19 still doesn’t feel real.  

“This will be the first time we really see a whole lot of, like, regulation on social media,” Swaney said. “It feels unreal but real at the same time that we're having a Supreme Court case over an app that we all like to watch cat videos on.” 

If the Court upholds the ban, Miller and Swaney say they’ll likely increase their use of Instagram because the algorithms of the photo app are the most similar. Others, including 21-year-old Eli Benson, say they might take a TikTok ban as a cue to decrease their social media consumption.  

“Maybe this is my sign to be done,” Benson said. “I would be ready for a little bit less social media.” 

−Karissa Waddick 

Trump pledges to ‘save TikTok’ after first trying to ban it

President-elect Donald Trump claims he can “save” TikTok and asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that could ban the social media platform in the U.S. − a big change from his first term, when he wanted it shut down.

Congress agreed last year to ban TikTok by Jan. 19 unless it was divested from ByteDance, its China-based parent company, because of national security concerns about the Chinese gathering data on American users.

That position echoed Trump’s position in 2020, when he signed an executive order as president ordering ByteDance to sell or spin off its U.S. assets within 90 days. The order was challenged in court and never came to fruition.

More:Trump becomes first ex-president sentenced for criminal conviction: live updates

Since then, Trump has accumulated 14.7 million followers on TikTok and founded his own social media platform, Truth Social. During 2024, he campaigned that he could “save TikTok.”

Trump told the Supreme Court taht voters have given him a mandate to protect their free-speech rights.

−Bart Jansen

Arguments begin in pivotal free speech case

The lawyer representing TikTok opened his argument by telling the justices that one of American’s most popular speech platforms will shut down in nine days unless they intervene.

Banning TikTok, Noel Franciso said, would violate the free speech rights of the company and its users.

The law Congress passed is singling the platform out for “uniquely harsh treatment” because of the government’s fear about what might happen in the future.

There are better ways of addressing that concern, he said.

−Maureen Groppe

College students question national security concerns central to case 

Monica Vasquez, 21, huddled with friends and fellow students from a University of California semester program in Washington, D.C., to stay warm as she waited to enter the Supreme Court. 

Vasquez, a political science student, said she was intrigued by the case’s central questions about whether a ban on the video platform would inhibit the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.  

Like many people her age, Vasquez said she predominantly gets her news from the social media platform and doesn’t see the national security concerns others have warned about. 

“People are like, ‘Oh, but they're stealing our data. I was like, 'Everyone's stealing my data,'” she said. “You're banning a whole app because of the fact that it's not run by America, it's a Chinese company. I think that's kind of insane.” 

−Karissa Waddick 

Will classified information come into play?

Not all the information the government has to persuade the court that TikTok poses a “grave” national security risk can be presented in public. Classified information is also part of the record.

The appeals court judges who sided with the government said they did not rely on the classified information in upholding the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Lawyers for TikTok told the Supreme Court they shouldn’t even consider the classified materials since they weren’t part of the decision they’re reviewing.

−Maureen Groppe

TikTok creators and small business owners fear death of app 

Callie Goodwin flew in from South Carolina with her friend and fellow TikTok content creator Sarah Baus to watch the oral arguments on Friday. Goodwin, 30, and Baus, 27, both said they rely on TikTok for their livelihoods. 

Goodwin, who owns a small greeting card and personalized gift store called Sparks Of Joy Co, said as much as 98% of her sales come from people who find her business on TikTok. Several months ago, during the height of the holiday gift shopping season, she said she sold over $30,000 worth of products on the app in just nine days.

“If we were to lose TikTok, I really fear for the survival of my business,” Goodwin told USA TODAY while waiting in line Friday morning. She argues that TikTok’s unique algorithm allows small businesses like hers to flourish in a way other platforms, like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, don’t.  

“We've got 115,000 followers over on TikTok. We've got, like, less than 3,000 (followers) combined between Instagram and Facebook,” she said. “To have that entire community, that customer base, and that ability to reach our target audience wiped out would be devastating for my business.” 

−Karissa Waddick 

TikTok is a growing source of news for Americans

The debate over TikTok comes as the platform has grown in popularity as a source of information.

About four in ten young adults in the U.S. regularly get news from the app, according to the Pew Research Center.

No social media platform the center has studied has seen faster growth in the share of Americans who regularly turn to it for news.

−Maureen Groppe

Creators want Trump to fulfill promise to 'save TikTok'

President-elect Donald Trump, in a legal filing last month, urged the Supreme Court to pause the impending ban. He said that once he takes office on Jan. 20, he can find a way to address the national security concerns about TikTok without compromising free speech.

If the court does not do that, Trump could direct his attorney general not to enforce the ban. The problem with that is whether Apple, Google and any other conduits for the app will feel that’s enough protection from the law’s stiff penalties.

−Maureen Groppe

More: Can Trump save TikTok? The ‘Art of the Deal’ President wants to try

TikTok or nothing, says one creator, snubbing Reels and YouTube

Around 70 people waited outside the Supreme Court on Friday morning in 20 degree weather to hear oral arguments. Almost all were bundled up in with scarfs, hats and hoods over their heads — some wrapped themeselves in blankets and one man wore ski goggles.

Ashley Wilson, 30, arrived at the Court last night around 7:30 p.m. to get a spot in line. Aside from two brief bathroom breaks at her apartment in DC's nearby Chinatown, she’s been here for more than 12 hours.

A lawyer by day, Wilson runs a TikTok channel where she streams court cases and discusses criminal law. Amid the Arctic chill, she was live-streaming her experience in line and explaining the contours of the case for followers.

More: No more 'Facebook jail': What will take the place of Meta's fact-checking system

“I’m honestly going in with an open mind,” she said. “I’m ready to hear evidence, if there is evidence of threats. I'm not sure that we've covered evidence of that so so far about national security concerns, but I'm very open minded to hearing it.”

If the court upholds the pending TikTok ban, Wilson said she’ll likely find another hobby rather than migrating her content to another platform − like Meta’s Instagram Reels or YouTube.

−Karissa Waddick

When will the Supreme Court make a decision on TikTok?

The court is hearing the case on an extremely expedited basis because of the impending Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok to divest from its parent company, ByteDance.

The court could decide quickly whether to at least pause the deadline while the justices decide if they will uphold the law.

Although that wouldn't be a final decision, it would give a strong indication of which way the court is likely to rule.

 

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the office of TikTok in Culver City, California, March 13, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
 

Who is arguing before the Supreme Court?

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, is taking on one last big case before the change in administrations.

Prelogar will face off against Noel Francisco, who was President-elect Donald Trump's solicitor general in Trump's first administration and is representing TikTok.

Jeffrey Fisher, a partner at O’Melveny & Myers who has argued four dozen cases at the court, is representing TikTok creators.

 

The US Supreme Court is seen behind a protective barrier in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2025. US President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on January 8, 2025 to block his sentencing this week for covering up hush money payments to a porn star while he appeals his conviction. Trump made the eleventh-hour plea for a suspension of the criminal proceedings to the nation's highest court after a New York State appeals court dismissed his effort to have the hearing delayed. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10. (Photo by Ting Shen / AFP) (Photo by TING SHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
The US Supreme Court is seen behind a protective barrier in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2025. US President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on January 8, 2025 to block his sentencing this week for covering up hush money payments to a porn star while he appeals his conviction. Trump made the eleventh-hour plea for a suspension of the criminal proceedings to the nation's highest court after a New York State appeals court dismissed his effort to have the hearing delayed. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10. (Photo by Ting Shen / AFP) (Photo by TING SHEN/AFP via Getty Images)

 

What is the legal issue being decided?

The justices are debating whether requiring the divesture of TikTok from ByteDance infringes on Americans' 1st Amendment rights of free speech.

If it does, the government has to convince the court that they have a good reason for doing so and that the law is narrowly tailored to achieve that goal.

How high a bar this will be for the government to clear depends on how much − if at all − the justices think the law is regulating speech.

How did the lower court rule?

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously upheld the law.

Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote that the law was  was “carefully crafted” and is part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by China.

Two of three judges were appointed by Republican presidents −Trump and Ronald Reagan. The third was appointed by a Democrat, Barack Obama.What is the law TikTok is challenging?

Congress last year passed the law being challenged with broad bipartisan support and President Joe Biden signed it into law.

TikTok had proposed ways of addressing the government’s concern without a sale.

But the Biden administration concluded that some data of U.S. users would still flow to China and ByteDance would still be able to exert control over TikTok’s operations in the U.S. The administration also didn’t trust that ByteDance would comply in good faith and didn’t think the U.S. could adequately monitor compliance.

Author: Maureen Groppe, Bart Jansen, Karissa Waddick, Bailey Schulz ,Rebecca Morin

Source: USA Today

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