TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 17, 2025

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company to divest from the app, setting up a ban to take effect Sunday. The justices sided with the Biden administration, ruling the divest-or-ban law does not violate the First Amendment, The Hill reports. President-elect Donald Trump had previously urged the justices to delay the deadline so he could negotiate a deal, but the court declined. The Biden administration does not plan to enforce the law before the inauguration, leaving the decision to Trump and seemingly allowing the app to stay online for now. The court was unanimous in its judgment, though Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch filed separate concurrences. TikTok has argued divestment is not feasible and that it will “go dark” starting Sunday.