Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban ahead of Sunday's deadline

Summary

• The US Supreme Court has upheld the Biden administration's TikTok ban, effective January 19, one day before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
• With the Supreme Court's decision, TikTok's legal options are exhausted, and the app's fate now hinges on a potential buyout.
• President-elect Trump has the power to grant TikTok a 90-day extension, potentially allowing the app to continue operating in the US while ByteDance divests its holdings.

TikTok's future in the US is in limbo. The app that popularized short-form content, as of the information available today, is set to be banned in the US starting Sunday, January 19 — one day before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

For reference, TikTok's appeal against the ban was met with resistance in the Appeals Court, prompting the platform to take its case to the US Supreme Court. Back on December 18, the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok's case. Exactly a month later, the final court of appeal has now announced its verdict.

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Siding with the Biden administration, the US Supreme Court has upheld the original decision, indicating that "as of January 19, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will make it unlawful for companies in the United States to provide services to distribute, maintain, or update the social media platform TikTok, unless U.S. operation of the platform is severed from Chinese control."

The ruling marks the end of the road for TikTok seeking legal intervention, at least when it comes to the judicial system. However, the app could still live on. For one, a buyer could come in to rescue the app, the possibility of which has increased since the Supreme Court's ruling. More importantly though, in the days leading up to the ruling, there has been chatter about US President Joe Biden's decision to leave the ban enforcement in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.

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Trump, on the other hand, appears to be in favor of letting the app live on in the US. His power as President allows him to give TikTok a one-time, 90-day extension on the ban, and sources suggest that is the route he will take once he takes office.

This, however, doesn't mean that the app will be allowed to function under its Chinese ownership indefinitely. The extension is intended solely to give ByteDance time to divest its holdings. Whether that happens remains to be seen.

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