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TikTok, the Supreme Court confirms the ban in the US, but the final word belongs to Trump: "I will decide"

The US Supreme Court has upheld the law banning TikTok in the United States from January 19, but Biden will not enforce the ban. The decision will be up to Trump, who could suspend the ban pending the sale

TikTok, the Supreme Court confirms the ban in the US, but the final word belongs to Trump: "I will decide"

From Sunday 19 January TikTok Will No Longer Be Able to Operate in the United States. As expected, the Supreme Court American has confirmed the law banning TikTok in the US, rejecting the appeal of the company that had asked to abolish the rule in the name of freedom of expression. For ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, it was the last – or rather the penultimate – recourse. Now it finds itself at a crossroads: sell quickly or risk being blacked out after the ban issued last April by President Joe Biden. But there could be a twist: a few hours before the announcement of the high court's decision, the Associated Press reported that Joe Biden will not enforce the TikTok ban, which goes into effect the day after tomorrow, and will leave its fate in the hands of Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court decision

The Supreme Court confirmed, with a unanimous decision, the law that forces TikTok to cease its activities on American soil as early as Sunday, January 19. According to the judges, in fact, risks to national security arising from Chinese control over the app prevail over freedom of expression. In fact, US authorities believe that the social network could be used to collect sensitive data from American users and make them available to the Chinese government. An accusation that Bytedance has always denied. 

What happens now? Trump is expected

Under the law passed by Congress in April, ByteDance will have to see U.S. operations by Sunday or it will be blacked out on American soil, preventing TikTok's 170 million U.S. users from using the app. 

In this context, a few days ago Bloomberg has dropped a bombshell: the Chinese government is in fact evaluating a plan that includes Elon Musk's acquisition of TikTok's US operations in order to avoid the app being banned in the United States. Hypothesis denied by ByteDance, but not abandoned by the US media who are now wondering what could happen in the next few hours. 

Everyone is also waiting for Donald Trump's possible reaction., who will take office at the White House on Monday, January 20, the day after the ban came into force. In 2020, the president-elect was the first to ask for TikTok to be banned in the US, only to change his mind after the success achieved during the election campaign among young people on the App. One of the possible ways of salvation for the social network could in fact be an executive order from the new president that allows TikTok to stay active while it seeks new buyers. 

According l 'Associated Press, citing an American executive as a source, Joe Biden will not enforce the TikTok ban, but will leave the final say to his successor. The White House confirmed the news: “TikTok should remain available for Americans, but simply under American or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this legislation,” said spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. “Given the simple fact of timing, this administration recognizes that Actions to implement the law must simply fall to the next administration, who will take office on Monday,” he explained. 

"In the end it will be up to me, we will see what we will do. Congress has given me the task of deciding, so I'll decide,” Trump said in an interview with CNN.

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