The Court Supreme of States Joined will examine this Friday the appeal of TikTok about a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the popular platform online video sharing or close it.
In the midst of a strategic confrontation between States Joined y Chinahe Congress The United States approved this law by a large majority in April.
The US government alleges that TikTok It allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users, and is a means to spread propaganda.
China and ByteDance They flatly deny the accusations.
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United States vs TikTok
The law, signed by the president Joe Bidensets January 19 as the deadline for the parent company of the social network, ByteDancesell the application to another owner.
TikTok, ByteDance and several organizations claim that the law contravenes the First Amendment of the Constitution American, which guarantees freedom of expression.
This is what the nine justices of the Supreme Court will address.
“We believe the court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so that the more than 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free expression rights,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
In a filing before the Supreme Court, TikTok argued that “Congress has enacted a massive, unprecedented restriction on free speech” that would “shut down one of the most popular speech platforms” in the country.
“This, in turn, will silence the speech of the plaintiffs and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, the arts and other matters of public interest,” he added.
The possible ban could strain relations between the United States and China just as Donald Trump prepares to be inaugurated president on January 20.
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Trumpwith 14.7 million followers on TikTokhas become an ally of the platform, in stark contrast to his first term, when the Republican leader attempted to ban the app, citing national security concerns.
The lawyer of Trump, John Sauerpresented a document before the Court Supreme last month calling for him to suspend the law.
Sauer “respectfully requests that the court consider suspending the deadline” of January 19 so that “the next administration of the president Trump (have) the opportunity to seek a political resolution of the issues at stake.”
“In favor of TikTok because you need competition”
He president elected met with the executive director of TikTokShou Zi Chew, en su residencia de Mar-a-Lago in Florida in December.
Trump declared to Bloomberg recently you changed your mind about the app.
“Now that I think about it, I’m in favor of TikTok because you need competition,” he said.
A coalition of free speech advocacy groups, including the influential Union United States of Freedoms Civiliansfiled a separate brief with the Supreme Court opposing the law, fearing that it would amount to censure.
AFPlike more than a dozen fact-checking organizations, fact-checks videos on the app that potentially contain false information and is compensated for it.
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