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Today and today only, there is no such thing as scrolling for way too long. Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected TikTok’s legal challenge to its impending banishment from US phone screens. That means you might not be able to access your favorite app as soon as tomorrow—temporarily, at least.
The decision was unanimous: The bipartisan TikTok ban that President Joe Biden signed into law in April is constitutional, SCOTUS ruled, as expected. The court found that “well-supported” national-security concerns over alleged Chinese data collection via TikTok’s owner ByteDance take priority over the free speech rights of the app’s 170 million American users.
But your FYP could still be saved
The Biden administration has signaled that it won’t actually enforce the TikTok ban when it officially kicks in on Jan. 19. The baton will pass to President-elect Trump on Jan. 20, and he’s done a 180 on TikTok since his first term, when he initiated the push for a ban.
Trump wants to keep TikTok accessible in the US…somehow. He said he had a “good” call with Chinese President Xi Jinping about TikTok yesterday. Once in office, Trump could…
- Issue an executive order—though legal experts say it might not hold up in court.
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Instruct his pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, to ignore the ban. She avoided answering whether she’d enforce it at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
As for a potential sale…TikTok has denied reports that Chinese officials are considering selling the app to Elon Musk. Without a deal on the table, TikTok intends to keep its offices open, but plans to shut down services in the US, which would also remove liability risks for app distributors Apple and Google. To keep TikTok on our screens, Trump might need to convince Big Tech that his administration won’t collect the enormous penalties that app stores could legally get hit with if they keep carrying TikTok.—ML
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Gaza ceasefire on track to start tomorrow. Yesterday, Israel’s cabinet