Supreme Court Supports Ban On TikTok Operating In The US

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA The US Supreme Court ruled that the divestment law signed by US President Joe Biden needs to be enacted. This decision was made on Friday, January 17.

In the decision document that has been published, the Supreme Court states that divestment rules are constitutional. That way, TikTok cannot operate in the US as long as they are still under the auspices of ByteDance, a company from China.

"Congress has determined that divestment is needed to address well-supported national security issues related to TikTok's data collection practices and relationships with foreign enemies," the Supreme Court judge wrote, as quoted by The Verge.

Although in the end the Supreme Court sided with the rules set by the government, the high-ranking agency realized that TikTok was offering huge profits to US citizens.

"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and broad channel for expression, engagement facilities, and community resources," the Supreme Court judge said. Unfortunately the rules must remain enforced.

The divestment rules passed in April last year were agreed as Protection Americans from Foreign Advisory Controlled Application Act. This law forced TikTok to separate from ByteDance in the span of time until January 19.

The day before the rules took effect, this rule had not been complied with so TikTok had to be blocked from the country. However, the White House has agreed to postpone its rules until Elect President Donald Trump is officially sworn in on Monday, January 20.

After that, the divestment law will be passed to the Trump administration. It is possible that this law will be completely stopped by Trump as the former president has shown his support for TikTok since the campaign period.

In fact, Trump had persuaded the Supreme Court to suspend Protecting Americans from Foreign Advisory Controlled Application Act. Although this law was postponed for a day, TikTok decided to keep its platform shut down.