GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Friday is a critical day for owners of the popular entertainment app TikTok, with the Supreme Court set to hear arguments against the forced sale or shutdown of the app.
170 million people in the United States have accounts on TikTok, so a lot of eyes on today's hearing.
It tracks back to a bipartisan law passed in April banning TikTok from operating in the U.S., citing national security concerns, including ownership of U.S. user data.
The law forces the app's parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or shut down its use in the U.S. by Sunday, January 19th.
The company issued a lawsuit - citing the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech protections.
The Supreme Court has historically deferred to the White House and Congress on national security measures. The high court is also known to be technologically averse, but Justices have delivered social media companies in the past.
In May 2023, they ruled Google, Twitter (X) and Facebook could not be held liable for what users post— and that was in regards to terrorist attacks.
Last summer, the Supreme Court pushed efforts by Texas and Florida to limit how social media sites curate content back down to the lower courts. That lawsuit involved claims that the owners of the sites were left-leaning, and were limiting conservative content.
In an opinion signed by five justices, Justice Kagan said platforms deserve protection from government intrusion in determining what to include or exclude from their space.
But the issue here, with today's argument is more focused on security.
So far, ByteDance has said it will not sell, leaving some West Michigan content creators worried about the future.
Meanwhile, some advocates are concerned about the security of children's mental health. You can read more on that here.
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