In what is now probably a last-ditch effort, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear legal arguments from TikTok as to why it should not be outlawed or sold in the US.
The US government is taking decisive action against the famous app because of what it says are its links to the Chinese state. which TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have since denied these links.
This development does not mean that the Supreme Court justices acted on a request by TikTok for an emergency injunction against the law, instead, it will allow TikTok and ByteDance to make their case on 10 January – nine days before the ban is due to take effect.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court rejected an attempt to overturn the legislation. According to them, it was “the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and by successive presidents”.
The Supreme Court is the highest legal authority in the US, and its decision to take on TikTok’s case is very meaningful as it only hears 100 or so cases a year out of the over 7,000 petitions it receives.
Meanwhile, TikTok has previously argued that the attempt to ban it was unconstitutional because it would hinder the free speech of its estimated 170 million users in the country.
Will Trump Likely Intervene?
Currently, it is a known fact that TikTok’s future does not just hang on the Supreme Court’s bidding but on Donald Trump as well as his victory at the polls means that the app may not be banned just yet.
This is due in part to the fact that Trump has publicly said he opposes the ban, even though he supported one in his first term as president.
But he will not assume office until 20 January, the day after the deadline for TikTok to be banned or sold.
In the meantime however, the president-elect met TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, BBC’s US partner, CBS News reported, citing sources familiar with the meeting.
But despite Trump’s support, a senior Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, had urged the Supreme Court to reject TikTok’s proposal.
TikTok however, also has the backing of some civil liberties organisations, with a group of them having made a joint filing to the court urging it to block the banning of a platform which they argue that “millions use every day to communicate, learn about the world, and express themselves.”
