The video-sharing social media app is facing a potential ban in the U.S. on Jan. 19, and will deliver oral arguments in its defense before the Supreme Court on Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern.
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum have criticized TikTok, citing national security concerns and worries about its Chinese parent company, the Beijing-headquartered ByteDance.
Here's how the case has unfolded -- and what to expect in the days ahead.
How We Got Here
TikTok wasn't always a platform where people share stories about daily interactions, sell products, and post "get ready with me" content. The app was launched in 2014 as Music.ly, and served as a place for users share videos of themselves dancing and lip-syncing.
ByteDance acquired Music.ly in 2017, and rebranded the app as TikTok in 2018.
TikTok -- which now boasts some 170 million U.S. users -- became incredibly popular in 2020, when people were stuck at home during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. That same year, then-President Donald Trump alleged in an executive order that TikTok's collection of user data was a threat to national security. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bill that will ban TikTok in the U.S. if it isn't sold to an American company by Jan. 19, 2025.
TikTok went to the courts in response, and argued that banning the platform would violate the First Amendment. A U.S. appeals court on Dec. 6 declined to block the ban, stating that the government acted to limit a foreign adversary's ability to gather data on people in the U.S.
TikTok filed an emergency motion on Dec. 9 and sought an injunction to stop the ban until the Supreme Court heard TikTok's appeal of the lower court's decision.
After the appeals court denied the motion, TikTok asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the ban on Dec. 16. The highest court in the U.S. agreed to hear TikTok's arguments two days later.
What to Expect
TikTok maintains that a ban would violate its users' rights to free speech, while the U.S. government has doubled down on its stance that the app is a threat to national security.
The U.S. government said in a court filing that the ban is not meant to suppress any American's free speech. Instead, "it simply seeks to prevent the [People's Republic of China] from controlling a platform that holds itself out as 'today's quintessential marketplace of ideas' and using it as a covert vector for the PRC's efforts to undermine the United States."
TikTok said in a Jan. 3 court document that the U.S. government has failed to prove that the app is a "severe data security risk."
"The Government asserts that (i) China has great interest in Americans' data, (ii) TikTok has great amounts of Americans' data, and (iii) China has great control over TikTok and ByteDance," TikTok said in the filing. "Again, however, it concedes the alleged risk has never materialized, while making no effort to explain why this dog has never barked."
It's unclear when the Supreme Court will make a decision. However, the AP reported on Thursday that TikTok plans to shut down the social media platform in the U.S. by Jan. 19 unless the court strikes down or delays the effective date of the law that would force TikTok to divest itself or be banned.
TikTok didn't immediately respond to Barron's request for comment.
Trump's Stance
Trump's new position on the app adds a twist to the TikTok saga. After fiercely criticizing the platform during his first term as president, Trump has switched gears.
Trump said in a legal filing on Dec. 27 that he "opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office."
Trump is due to assume the presidency Jan. 20 -- one day after a ban would take effect.
Potential Impact on Stocks
While TikTok is not a publicly traded company, other tech players could benefit from the service no longer operating in the U.S.
Short-term video content has become an incredibly popular medium -- and Meta Platforms, YouTube parent Alphabet, and Snapchat parent Snap are all vying for increased market share. A ban could boost these companies - and their stock prices - as they try to attract new users looking for a new place to receive similar content they may soon lose access to.