The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against communist Chinese government-tied TikTok, meaning a ban takes effect on Jan. 19. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has his own ideas for the platform.
In a per curiam decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against TikTok. The Court upheld a bill passed by Congress last year that gave TikTok an ultimatum: divest from Chinese ownership or be banned from the U.S. The Court also rejected the D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling that TikTok is entitled to Section 230 immunity as a publisher. MRC Vice President Dan Schneider particularly praised the three justices who have consistently ruled on the side of First Amendment rights. “I thank G-d for Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch who consistently stand for free speech rights,” Schneider posted on X. President-elect Donald Trump, however, indicated that a new development could be coming soon.
Schneider’s X thread highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of the D.C. Circuit Court’s “horrible, anti-free speech rationale,” in its ruling that TikTok was not a “platform” but a “publisher” with certain content and free speech immunities. “To protect us from the Chinese spy app, the [U.S. Supreme] Court NARROWLY ruled on data privacy grounds (not trying to bootstrap a pro-governement censorship argument), speci[fi]cally limited to the TikTok-specific provisions,” Schneider clarified.
Two huge victories in today's decision:
— Dan Schneider (@Schneider_DC) January 17, 2025
1. The Court UPHELD the law that protects Americans from our enemy's Trojan Horse
2. The Court REJECTED the DC Circuit's horrible, anti-free speech rationale that falsely proclaimed that TikTok is a "publisher" rather than a "platorm" https://t.co/11PqRimHtp
Experts previously warned in exclusive statements to MRC Free Speech America about the national security risks of the “spy app,” which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government also owns a board seat and financial stake in ByteDance. Concerns of TikTok’s ties to the Chinese government endangering Americans’ personal information are not unfounded. Yintao Yu, a former executive for ByteDance, alleged in a 2023 lawsuit that the CCP has backdoor access to TikTok user data. These are the risks Schneider highlighted.
He added, “Maybe more importantly, the Court did not take the bait chummed by the activist judges on the DC Circuit Court who tried to manufacture a dangerous legal theory to solidify the gov's ability to censor speech.” The justices closed TikTok’s loophole for asserting it had free speech rights.
Incoming President Donald Trump posted his thoughts on the matter on his platform Truth Social. “The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” wrote Trump.
The communist Chinese government-tied TikTok platform has a checkered history with censoring free speech. As of Sept. 2022, MRC revealed that TikTok “permanently banned” 11 pro-free speech organizations. In 2023, MRC ranked TikTok among the worst censors of the year after it deleted hundreds of thousands of videos related to the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict. The Chinese-owned app made the worst censorship list again in 2024, after it targeted content critical of terrorist group Hamas and transgenders in women’s sports.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact TikTok via email at communitymanager@tiktok.com and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
