US Supreme Court upholds law to sell or ban TikTok

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that forces the sale of TikTok, leaving the video-sharing app to be banned in the U.S. in two days if no deal is struck.

Siding with the government, the justices upheld a lower court ruling that Congress did not violate the First Amendment when it passed the sell-or-ban law last year on national security grounds. TikTok had argued otherwise before the justices last week.

“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

The court also declined to stave off the impending deadline for the sale of TikTok. Starting Sunday, if the company is not sold, app stores and cloud providers who continue to host it will face billions of dollars in fines.

Still, it is unclear if the ban will be implemented right away. A White House official indicated President Joe Biden will not enforce the ban, and President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to “save” TikTok.

Trump argued in a brief to the high court that he could negotiate a deal to allay national security concerns while keeping the app online in the U.S.