OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States. Justices heard arguments Friday centered around free speech protections and national security.
Chief Justice John Roberts highlighted concerns regarding TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and the company's connections to the Chinese government.
In April, Congress passed a law mandating that TikTok's parent company either sell the app or face a shutdown. This law is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court issues a temporary block.
As the decision is pending, President Trump has submitted an amicus brief urging the court to pause the ban temporarily before it comes into force.
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Supreme Court set to hear arguments over TikTok ban
TikTok has an estimated 170 million users in the U.S., supporting numerous content creators who depend on the platform for their livelihoods.
FOX 17 spoke with Jessica Secrest, a TikTok creator from West Michigan, who has millions of followers and is anxious about the potential ban.
“I always say this feels like my home. This is this beautiful sandcastle I built and it’s about to be washed away,” Secrest said.
Secrest believes the government is concerned about TikTok's algorithm.
“The thing that I think is scaring the government about TikTok is the algorithm. But that’s what’s also been so helpful with me having people find me," she said.
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For Secrest, a wife and mother of two, the values of community and connection are paramount.
“If TikTok is banned and TikTok is no more, I will lose my access to a 3.6 million-people audience. I not only lose the access to being heard and sharing my life and sharing my recipes and bringing joy to a lot of people’s lives; I lose a lot of income,” Secrest said.
Secrest is concerned about her peers, and the community she has created.
“A lot of people have been relying on this for years. A lot of small businesses generate a lot of income. I had a meeting with TikTok last week, and they estimate that this in the first month alone would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to small businesses. That’s not a small number," Secrest said.
Secrest has diversified her presence across multiple platforms, including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, to ensure her audience can still find her if the TikTok ban takes effect.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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