Free-Speech Advocates Clash with TikTok Ban Efforts

Published: January 1, 2025

Free-Speech Advocates Clash with TikTok Ban Efforts

By Movieguide® Contributor

ByteDance isn’t the only one against the ban of its app, TikTok.

The ban, which the Supreme Court may enforce on Jan. 10 if Bytedance doesn’t sell the app, faces pushback from several free-speech groups and members of Congress.

The opposers of the ban argue “it violates First Amendment rights of TikTok’s users,” Variety reported.

“The Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal for an emergency injunction blocking a federal law — the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — that will ban the popular video app unless Chinese parent ByteDance sells its stake,” Variety reported. “The high court scheduled arguments to hear TikTok’s appeal on Friday, Jan. 10, on an expedited timeline that will let the court consider the issue before the law is set to take effect on Jan. 19. According to the court’s docket, a total of two hours is allotted for oral argument.”

At the hearing, the parties will discuss whether the ban violates the First Amendment.

Variety said, “Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), filed an amicus brief with the court Friday in support of TikTok’s appeal. ‘All three are strong advocates of free expression and are deeply concerned that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will deprive millions of Americans of their First Amendment rights,’ they said in the brief.”

Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute, expressed, “Restricting citizens’ access to foreign media is a practice that has long been associated with repressive regimes, and we should be very wary of letting the practice take root here. Upholding the ban would do lasting damage to the First Amendment and our democracy.”

But others are filing amicus briefs in favor of the ban.

Seven human rights groups filed a brief, arguing that the law is a “necessary step toward protecting the physical and digital safety of those who seek to illuminate the atrocities occurring in the [People’s Republic of China].”

In the midst of these arguments, President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to halt the ban. He wants to propose a deal that would keep the platform legal and safe, given the app’s potential threat to American security.

Trump’s proposal may serve the interests of many Americans, as more are against the ban now than they were last year.

Many against the ban are TikTok creators, who are scrambling to find other avenues of income in case the ban is imposed.

Pew Research reported, “In a summer 2024 survey, 32% of adults said they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok, down from 50% in March 2023. Another 28% said they opposed a ban, while 39% were not sure.”

Trump filed his amicus brief on Friday. The filing said, “President Trump takes no position on the merits of the dispute. Instead, he urges the Court to stay the statute’s effective date to allow his incoming Administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government’s national security concerns. If achieved, such a resolution would obviate the need for this Court to decide extremely difficult questions on the current, highly expedited schedule.”

The brief does not explain how the app would be made safe to use.

The Supreme Court has several routes it could take to decide TikTok’s fate. In only nine more days, America will have its answer.