- "If the federal government continues to take this strategy, it’s likely going to be a prolonged game of whack-a-mole," said Brenee Goforth Swanzy, John Locke Foundation.
- it's not clear that the Supreme Court's ruling actually solves the national security concerns, while simultaneously risking catastrophic damage to content creators and other American workers who rely on access to the platform for their income." Brooke Medina, vice president of communications, John Locke Foundation.
Update: On Sunday, the TikTok app went down for 14 hours, but was restored after President-elect Trump announced that on Monday he would extend the divest-or-ban deadline for the Chinese app.
On Friday, the United States Supreme Court upheld a law banning the social media platform TikTok unless the company severs ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance. The law is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.
North Carolina had already joined a growing wave of states taking action against TikTok amid broad concerns over national security and data privacy.
Then-Attorney General Josh Stein, now Governor Stein, has also waded into the issue, filing a lawsuit in October accusing TikTok of violating state consumer protection laws by exposing minors to harmful content and deceptive practices.
TikTok responded earlier this week seeking dismissal of Stein’s lawsuit, arguing that the allegations lack merit. The company maintains that it prioritizes user safety and compliance with local regulations, and argued that Stein’s lawyers had failed to prove that TikTok violated state laws against deceptive trade practices. However, these reassurances have done little to quell increasing skepticism among legislators and security experts who see TikTok as a potential tool for espionage or influence operations.
In 2023, a state legislative committee advanced a ban on the platform for state-owned devices. Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, was one of the primary sponsors of S.B. 83, which also banned the platform on devices associated with state schools and universities. An amendment to it also barred a Russian product “Telegram” and the Chinese platform “WeChat.” Lawmakers saw it as a step to safeguard sensitive state information from potential foreign interference. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in 2023, but was not taken up in the House, relegated to the House Rules Committee.
The federal ban, upheld Friday by the Supreme Court, underscores the urgency of these concerns on a national scale. The ruling will restrict TikTok’s operations across the United States starting this weekend, marking a significant escalation in the US-China tech tensions.
While critics of the ban argue that it raises free speech concerns and could set a troubling precedent for tech regulation, supporters contend that the risks to national security outweigh these considerations.
As the ban loomed, more than half-a-million new users have been downloading RedNote or Lemon8 this week, other Chinese apps that have potentially even greater national security concerns than TikTok.
“Unfortunately for those who want to see China’s influence removed from American phones, banning individual apps is not likely going to cut it,” said Brenee Goforth Swanzy, communications manager for the John Locke Foundation. “If the federal government continues to take this strategy, it’s likely going to be a prolonged game of whack-a-mole.”
Balancing the promises of innovative technology with the imperative of protecting public and state security is the challenge facing policy makers.
In 2024, Congress enacted the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, set to take effect Sunday. The act “makes it unlawful for any entity to provide certain services to ‘distribute, maintain, or update’ a ‘foreign adversary controlled application’ in the United States.” The act specifically cites TikTok and ByteDance. The high court agreed.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community.,” the main opinion concluded. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
“Americans can appreciate the national security concerns associated with TikTok refusing to divest from ByteDance, while still expressing strong opposition to the federal government’s intervention in the personal lives – and livelihoods – of private American citizens,” said Brooke Medina, vice president of communications for the John Locke Foundation. “It seems we’re in the age of digital shell games and it’s not clear that the Supreme Court’s ruling actually solves the national security concerns, while simultaneously risking catastrophic damage to content creators and other American workers who rely on access to the platform for their income.”