I=8
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban
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The Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the law that will ban TikTok in US in Jan.19 unless divested.
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The ruling came shortly after Trump held a phone discussion with China’s Xi Jinping.
“The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social Post. “We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Assessment
This decision was already expected following last week’s arguments between the judges and the participants. I believe that Trump will find ways of ensuring that TikTok doesn’t go dark in US as signaled by his nominee for the national security advisor position yesterday. However, based on rumors that the Chinese government is planning to sell it to Elon Musk, Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration, Waltz comments that they will keep it alive until a buyer is found, and complexities involved in reversing the law, there is a high chance that TikTok will be sold instead. Since the sale will probably not involve the algorithm which is key to Bytedance’s operations, TikTok will likely be no longer as powerful as today, hence still a win for the likes of Meta.