WASHINGTON: The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court on Friday, with the justices largely holding the app’s fate in their hands.
The popular social media platform says the law violates the First Amendment and should be struck down.
TikTok’s parent company is based in China, and the US government says that means it is a potential national security threat. Chinese authorities could force it to hand over sensitive data on the huge number of Americans who use it or could influence the spread of information on the platform, they say.
An appeals court has upheld the law, which bans TikTok unless it’s sold.
The law is set to take effect Jan. 19, the day before a new term begins for President-elect Donald Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on the platform. The Republican says he wants to “save TikTok.”
Here are some key things to know about the case:
Is TikTok banned?
Not now, but the short-form video-sharing app could be shut down in less than two weeks if the Supreme Court upholds the law.
Congress passed the measure with bipartisan support, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, signed it into law in April.
TikTok’s lawyers challenged the law in court, joined by users and content creators who say a ban would upend their livelihoods. TikTok says the national security concerns are based on inaccurate and hypothetical information.
But a unanimous appeals court panel made up of judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents has upheld the law.
When will the Supreme Court decide?
The justices will issue a decision after arguments Friday, a lightning-fast movement by court standards.
The conservative-majority court could drop clues about how it’s leaning during oral arguments.
TikTok lawyers have urged the justices to step in before the law takes effect, saying even a monthlong shutdown would cause the app to lose about one-third of its daily American users and significant advertising revenue.
The court could quickly block the law from going into effect before issuing a final ruling, if at least five of the nine justices think it is unconstitutional.
What has Trump said about it?
The law is to take effect Jan. 19, the day before Trump takes over as president.
He took the unusual step of filing court documents asking the Supreme Court to put the law on hold so that he could negotiate a deal for the sale of TikTok after he takes office. His position marked the latest example of him inserting himself into national issues before he takes office. It also was a change from his last presidential term, when he wanted to ban it.
Parent company ByteDance has previously said it has no plans to sell. Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, last month.
Who else is weighing in?
Free-speech advocacy groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have urged the court to block the law, saying the government hasn’t shown credible evidence of harm and a ban would cause “extraordinary disruption” in Americans’ lives.
On the other side, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican former Senate leader, and a group of 22 states have filed briefs in support, arguing that the law protects free speech by safeguarding Americans’ data and preventing the possible manipulation of information on the platform by Chinese authorities.
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The Supreme Court is considering a possible TikTok ban. Here’s what to know about the case
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The Supreme Court is considering a possible TikTok ban. Here’s what to know about the case
- Three appeals court judges have sided with the government and upheld the law, which bans TikTok unless it’s sold
- The justices largely hold the app’s fate in their hands as they hear the case Friday
Hillary Clinton to testify in US House panel’s Jeffrey Epstein probe
- The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel’s probe
- But they eventually agreed to do so after being threatened of contempt by House Republicans
NEW YORK: Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is to testify behind closed doors Thursday before a congressional committee investigating the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to answer questions the following day from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee about his relations with Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel’s probe, but the Democratic power couple eventually agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.
Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack political opponents of Republican President Donald Trump — himself a former Epstein associate who has not been called to testify — rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.
Trump and Bill Clinton, both 79, feature prominently in the recently released trove of government documents related to Epstein, but have each said they broke ties with the financier before his 2008 conviction in Florida as a sex offender. Mere mention in the files is not proof of having committed a crime.
The Clintons called for their depositions to be public but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as “pure politics” and akin to a “kangaroo court.”
“If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about,” the former Democratic president said on X.
Hillary Clinton, 78, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump, said in an interview with the BBC last week that she and her husband “have nothing to hide.”
She met Maxwell “on a few occasions,” she said, but never had any meaningful interactions with Epstein.
Republicans are trying to deflect attention away from Trump by having them testify, she said.
“Look at this shiny object. We’re going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy,” she said.
The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside.
Clemency
Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 64, is the only person who has been convicted of a crime in connection with late financier.
The former socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
She appeared via video-link before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month but refused to answer any questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.
Her attorney, David Markus, said Maxwell would be prepared to speak publicly if granted clemency by Trump.
Markus also said that Trump and Bill Clinton are “innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“Ms Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation,” he said.
Epstein cultivated a network of powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics and the release of the Epstein files has had repercussions around the globe including the arrests in Britain of former prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson, the ex-ambassador to the United States.
A number of prominent Americans have had their reputations damaged by their friendships with Epstein and have resigned their positions, but no one other than Maxwell has faced legal consequences.
Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to answer questions the following day from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee about his relations with Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel’s probe, but the Democratic power couple eventually agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.
Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack political opponents of Republican President Donald Trump — himself a former Epstein associate who has not been called to testify — rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.
Trump and Bill Clinton, both 79, feature prominently in the recently released trove of government documents related to Epstein, but have each said they broke ties with the financier before his 2008 conviction in Florida as a sex offender. Mere mention in the files is not proof of having committed a crime.
The Clintons called for their depositions to be public but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as “pure politics” and akin to a “kangaroo court.”
“If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about,” the former Democratic president said on X.
Hillary Clinton, 78, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump, said in an interview with the BBC last week that she and her husband “have nothing to hide.”
She met Maxwell “on a few occasions,” she said, but never had any meaningful interactions with Epstein.
Republicans are trying to deflect attention away from Trump by having them testify, she said.
“Look at this shiny object. We’re going to have the Clintons, even Hillary Clinton, who never met the guy,” she said.
The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside.
Clemency
Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 64, is the only person who has been convicted of a crime in connection with late financier.
The former socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
She appeared via video-link before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month but refused to answer any questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.
Her attorney, David Markus, said Maxwell would be prepared to speak publicly if granted clemency by Trump.
Markus also said that Trump and Bill Clinton are “innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“Ms Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation,” he said.
Epstein cultivated a network of powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics and the release of the Epstein files has had repercussions around the globe including the arrests in Britain of former prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson, the ex-ambassador to the United States.
A number of prominent Americans have had their reputations damaged by their friendships with Epstein and have resigned their positions, but no one other than Maxwell has faced legal consequences.
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