Most of the Supreme Court is ready to let a ban on downloading or upgrading TikTok take effect on January 19th, 2025, due to national security concerns.

In 2024, the Biden Administration made it clear that TikTok having ties to the Chinese government could put America at risk. President Joe Biden then signed a law that requires ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to either sell TikTok to a buyer that isn’t affiliated with China, or to face a U.S. nationwide ban.

On the contrary, USA Today reports that TikTok users claim, “… The law violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of free speech” (Eric Lagatta and Greta Cross, January 14, 2025). However, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar states the First Amendment isn’t being violated, and that Congress doesn’t discriminate against certain aspects or viewpoints.

On the other hand, there is one interested billionaire that stands out according to Fox 10 Phoenix. “Project Liberty, led by billionaire Frank McCourt, has emerged as a potential buyer for TikTok’s U.S assets” (Austin Williams, January 13, 2025). However, China refuses to sell TikTok’s algorithm, as they view it as intellectual property. If McCourt were to buy TikTok, his company would only possess America’s portion of the app. For now, details on this deal are being kept private until ByteDance can review the proposal.

If the Supreme Court proceeds with the ban, from January 19th, 2025, and so on, TikTok will be non-downloadable for new users and there will be no more updates for American users. Therefore eventually the app in America could sooner or later die out.

With the mixed responses and possible temporary delay in negotiations, many people are stuck wondering whether the Supreme Court will go forward with this ban.