The United States has gone to great lengths to ban TikTok. Because, the Americans think that this platform owned by China is a serious risk to their national security. Therefore, in order to maintain their existence in the US market, TikTok must separate from the parent company ByteDance before January 19. Last Friday, the US Supreme Court said it was likely to uphold the ban on the platform.
The landmark case between TikTok and three branches of the US government is known as 'TikTok v Garland'. In hearing the case, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts referred to ByteDance's intelligence surveillance.
Judge Brett Kavanagh said that many foreign companies are involved in the theft of US data, which could be a national threat in the future. So the matter should be looked into strongly.
TikTok and ByteDance lawyer Noel Francisco said, 'We don't object to the security risk, but the way the US government is trying to ban TikTok.' He also said that if the Supreme Court approves this law, then similar laws can be made against other foreign institutions for the same reason. This could have a negative impact on the liberty and freedom of speech of US citizens.
The justices, while deliberating on various aspects of the law, indicated that they were keen to uphold the law. However, some justices expressed serious concerns about its First Amendment implications.
However, ByteDance has not announced anything about the change in ownership. As the time draws near, it is believed that TikTok is on the way to be banned in the United States.
TikTok has about 170 million users in the United States, which is about half of the country's population. It is known as one of the most popular social media in the country. So it is being said that if Tiktok is finally banned in the United States, there will be a major change in the daily life of the country's citizens.
This ban on TikTok is not only in the United States, but India and Afghanistan have banned this platform for several years. Apart from this, many countries including Australia, France, Belgium, Taiwan have banned TikTok on the mobile phones of their government officials. The platform has been banned in Albania for a year at the end of 2024. However, no country has experienced such complex cases as the United States before TikTok.
Source: CNN
