TikTok’s case to fight it’s ban in the US is set to move forward after the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
Earlier this month, I did a write-up on the court case involving TikTok. TikTok, of course, was fighting the overall ban of its platform on obvious free speech grounds. Despite millions of American’s, as well as the platform itself, getting their voices silenced, the court ruled that censoring a whole platform – and, consequently, everyone who uses it – protects free speech because… reasons apparently.
The ruling was shocking and alarming for experts and observers alike for a host of reasons. First of all, censoring an entire platform is an assault on freedom of expression. Second, saying that massive government censorship is a measure to protect free speech is completely absurd. It’s a bit like saying that throwing people in jail protects their freedom of mobility as a general rule or taking away people’s rights to vote is a measure to protect the integrity of the voting process. You are doing the exact opposite thing you should be doing to protect that right.
Unsurprisingly, TikTok appealed the ruling. The word is that the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case – indicating that the case is moving forward at the very least. From the BBC:
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear last-ditch legal arguments from TikTok as to why it should not be banned or sold in the US.
The Supreme Court justices did not act on a request by TikTok for an emergency injunction against the law, but will instead allow TikTok and ByteDance to make their case on 10 January – nine days before the ban is due to take effect.
It goes without saying that just randomly banning a whole platform just for the thrill of it sets a very ugly precedent. For one, it basically gives other countries the green light to ban whatever platform they feel like. After all, if a third world country bans something like Facebook, and the US objects to the arbitrary nature of such a ban, that country can point to the US TikTok case and say, “well, if you can do that, we can do this.” For another, it greatly discourages innovative platforms from investing in the US because if they can just get banned based on a whim, that creates a whole new level of uncertainty. What’s more, it sets the stage for a new generation platform where everything is decentralized, encrypted, and harder to enforce the rule of law on as people witness their online social experience grow increasingly fractured, depending on where they live in the world. There really is no upside to any of this unless you count satisfying xenophobia as an upside (personally, I wouldn’t count that as an upside).
It’s hard to say where things go from here. In recent years, convicted felon, Donald Trump, has warmed to the platform. Since the Supreme Court has become increasingly a political body that does what it can to serve right wing interests, there is that possibility that this shift could benefit TikTok. As far as I can tell, the law is on TikTok’s side, but the rule of law is merely a factor in any case before that court. Anything could really happen as the case moves forward.
