ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular social media app TikTok, was dealt a defeat by the Supreme Court on Friday. The justices ruled 9–0 that a forced sale of TikTok can proceed. If ByteDance does not agree to sell the app to an American buyer by Sunday, TikTok will be banned on U.S. smartphones.
The justices upheld Congress's forced sale of TikTok, writing in their per curiam opinion that the law is constitutional because it narrowly addresses a national security concern—the Chinese government's acquisition of American users' data—in a speech-neutral way. Even so, the decision expresses some concerns about whether this is actually the case, repeatedly noting that the Court had just a limited time frame to consider the case, which involves the application of cherished First Amendment norms to new technologies.
"As Justice Frankfurter advised 80 years ago in considering the application of established legal rules to the 'totally new problems' raised by the airplane and radio, we should take care not to 'embarrass the future,'" wrote the justices. "That caution is heightened in these cases, given the expedited time allowed for our consideration. Our analysis must be understood to be narrowly focused in light of these circumstances."
