The World is Changing: Trump’s Will on TikTok and the Second Supreme Court Decision on the Data Privacy Protection Act of the United States
Trump said before the ruling that he had a good call with China’s President and discussed the TikTok app. He wrote on Truth Social after the Supreme Court decision that everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made soon, but I need some time to review the situation. Not exactly a resoundingly firm promise.
The Bush v. Gore decision is not meant to have greater precedential value than the 2000 ruling because it is a one-off. “But this will be a critical decision, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “And it gives enormous power to Congress to act on data privacy questions.”
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The US government managed to push a once-unbelievable political proposition mainstream: banning one of the most popular social media services in the country, based partly on national security concerns that have still never been disclosed. But lawmakers and the White House always maintained that their goal was forcing a sale of TikTok to a non-Chinese owner. Instead, the company remained laser-focused on exhausting its legal options — apparently not even engaging much with prospective buyers like billionaire Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty. It is not clear if China will be willing to let ByteDance make a sale.
“Do we assume that counter speech is the best remedy for troublesome speech?” asked Gorsuch, “like TikTok has raised the possibility that some content may be manipulated by China.”
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the federal government, quickly shot that down with this analogy: “Imagine if you walked into a store and I had a sign that said one of 1 million products in this store causes cancer,” she told the court. “That is not going to put you on notice about what product is actually jeopardizing your health.”
On Friday following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that it would be up to the incoming administration to implement the law. “Given the sheer fact of timing, this administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” she said.
Donald Trump is now the center of attention. He asked the Supreme Court to delay a ruling to give his administration more time to come up with a solution that would resolve national security concerns.
The law gives the president the option of postponing the ban for 90 days if progress is made towards a sale in another area.
On Friday, Trump posted on his social media platform that he has not made a decision yet. “The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
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She said that when the restrictions take effect, they will fundamentally change the landscape with respect to what ByteDance is willing to consider.
A video on the platform says that Chew thanked the president for his commitment to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the U.S. “We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a President who truly understands our platform — one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process.”
Justice Department officials issued their own confounding statements after the ruling. Garland said that the Supreme Court helped prevent the Chinese government from creating TikTok to undermine America’s national security. But Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “The next phase of this effort — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19 — will be a process that plays out over time.”
There was a flurry of articles this week suggesting that Chinese officials were at least beginning to entertain the idea of selling the app and possibly even trying to lure Musk to buy it. So far, there has been nothing from the Chinese government or ByteDance that suggests they are serious about a sale.
Should the law go into effect, TikTok is reported to be planning on going dark on Sunday. In the end, the TikTok ban deadline might be the reason for the only party still committed to it.
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Justice Neil Gorsuch agreed that the remedy Congress and the president chose was dramatic. I don’t know if this law will succeed in achieving its ends. A determined foreign adversary may just seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another. Less dramatic and more effective solutions can emerge as threats evolve.