The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that bans TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by this Sunday. It now falls to incoming President Donald Trump’s administration, which takes office on Monday, Jan 21st, to enforce the law. Trump vowed to make a decision in the “not too distant future”.

This U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is a deeply consequential ruling with far-reaching implications. While national security concerns regarding Chinese ownership and potential data misuse are valid, the decision sets a dangerous precedent for restricting digital platforms based on geopolitical concerns rather than clear legal violations.

One of the most troubling aspects of the decision is its apparent disregard for the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. TikTok is a platform for millions of American users—content creators, businesses, educators, and activists—to express themselves. By banning the platform, the U.S. government has, in effect, suppressed a major channel of speech, setting a troubling precedent for future government intervention in digital expression.

While the government cited national security threats due to TikTok’s ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance, there has been no publicly disclosed, concrete evidence proving widespread data misuse beyond what is already commonplace in the tech industry. TikTok services for U.S. users run on Oracle cloud infrastructure located inside the country. Oracle is also responsible for compiling the app and delivering it to third-........

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