What is the status of the recent Tik Tok issue?

The Tik Tok issue, just recently decided by the United States Supreme Court is found in Tik Tok, Inc., et al v Merrick Garland, Attorney General and the case of Brian Firebaugh, et al. v Merrick Garland, Attorney General. The parties as petitioners to the cases include both the company Tik Tok and a group of users in the United States of Tik Tok. The only issue before the Court is whether the First Amendment rights of free speech are violated in regard to both the company and users.

I have never used Tik Tok and therefore fairly unfamiliar with the social media platform. Reading about it one can see that is is well considered by the developers in that it allows random individuals to upload short videos and text so that they can show off whatever their talent, their view or whatever on their mind they can make into a visual reality.

As Tik Tok has developed they have included variations to meet various needs of its worldwide users. For various reasons not all variations or iterations are available in all countries. Tik Tok like other social media platforms have developed various algorithims that identify the interests of users. Based on the identified interests various videos, etc. will become available to the users. Tik Tok opens to a sort of home page called “For You” that is exactly what it implies. I sometimes enjoy videos on You Tube of American military veterans that are willing to discuss combat experiences from WW II, Korea and Vietnam. It is no slight to veterans from the Gulf War, Iraq or Afganistan. It just seems that those videoes don’t seem to pop up. You Tube uses similar algorithims to identify the interests of users. Tik Tok has also developed parental controls that allow parents to control what their kids are able to see. Theoretically, these controls over ride the interests of young users; I don’t recall the minimum age allowed for one to use Tik Tok. Tik Tok uses both automated and human input to remove content that violates its rules in as much as it is able. In addition to supporting the interests of the user, the platform like other social media platforms can become somewhat addictive.

Tik Tok is owned by ByteDance, LTD which owns the algorithims and source code used by Tik Tok. The Chinese government requires by law that Chinese companies cooperate or assist the Chinese government with its work in intelligence gathering and that “the Chinese Government has “the power to access and control private data””(604 U.S. ___(2025, Tik Tok, Inc., et al v Merrick Garland, Attorney General and the case of Brian Firebaugh, et al. v Merrick Garland, Attorney General.)

Months before the end of President Trump’s first term he issued two executive orders regarding ByteDance and its subsidiaries (Tik Tok); one to prohibit certain transactions in the U.S. by ByteDance which was challenged in Court and ultimately the Executive Order struck down. The second Executive Order , “ordered ByteDance Ltd. to divest all interests and rights in any property “used to enable or support ByteDance’s operation of the TikTok application in the United States,” along with “any data obtained or derived from” U. S. TikTok users.85_Fed._ Reg._ 51297. Though negotiations were sought, they stalled. Congress then passed the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”. ByteDance and Tik Tok met all definitions as being adverse to the Act. It was to take place two hundred seventy (270) days after the enactment of the Act which was to be 19 January 2025. However, the foreign controlled application(s) can be exempt if the company undergoes a “qualified divestiture” which shall be determined by the President in that the company(s) in question are no longer controlled by a foreign adversary. There are other requirements of the President’s understanding and the President may invoke a one time ninety(90) day extension.

During the past few years, thirty-nine (39) states including Alabama have banned Tik Tok from state owned devices, so one can see how most of the states see the danger in the data available to the Chinese government. Tik Tok had argued the case to be about the freedom of speech. The Supreme Court found that the Act was content neutral in that it neither supported the content on Tik Tok nor opposed it. Mainly for that reason there was no Freedom of Speech or First Amendment issue. That finding applied both to the application Tik Tok and to its users. The Government also supported the fact that the sensitive data of 170 million Americans was available to the Chinese government. The Supreme Court therfore held and issued its opinion on 17 January 2025 that the Act was not unConstitutional as passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden. Tik Tok went dark the next day. On his first day in office, President Trump signed an extension order for seventy-five (75) days (less than the 90 days allowed). There is talk of a 50/50 Chinese and maybe private American partnership in ownership. Because of the extension, I understand that Tik Tok is again available for now. Sometimes government must make laws to protect the security and protection of it’s people. Take for instance the false yelling of “fire” in a crowded location such as a theatre where many could be trampled while running or consider the Scheneck v United States case from 1919 where Scheneck, the Secretary of The Socialist Party sent notices to potential United States draftees encouraging then to resist the draft. It was considered by the United States Supreme Court and it was Justice Oliver Wendell Holes that first penned the words “clear and present danger” in regards to the national security issues that such resistance could have created. Some men have always resisted the draft but for the first time it became more vocal during WW I and there was difficulty handling it. In Holmes opinion it was his feeling that in war time it may be necessary to back off some First Amendment rights when it creates issues with national security. While we are fortunately not at war with China, there is a lot of instability with China who manufactures and trades with us in an unbalanced manner, much of the money going to build their military, where China does not recognize the soverignity of Taiwan with concerns of a war there, when China expands their territory by building islands out into the ocean closer to American allies and of course has the capability and has I am sure nefariously captured private data of probably a majority of Americans. Tik Tok is not a First Amendment issue, it is an issue

President Trump, regardless of your feelings for him as President is strong and I am sure will do what is best for America.

I hope that this has helped with your question. If you need a lawyer you can contact the Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral service or ask a trusted friend about a lawyer that they might recommend.

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