Supreme Court rules to uphold US ban on TikTok from Sunday

The Supreme Court has voted to uphold a ban on TikTok, which will see the popular streaming app become unavailable in the US from Sunday (January 19).

The ruling comes following an appeal from TikTok against a law that prohibits ownership of social media platforms, among other services, in the US from " foreign adversaries" such as China.

Last week, TikTok's Chinese owners ByteDance confirmed that it would cease operations on January 19 should the ban be upheld meaning that it will be unavailable to download on app stores from Sunday in the United States.

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ByteDance had the option to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese investor, with rumours circulating in the last few days around possible buyouts from Elon Musk and YouTube star Mr Beast.

According to legal filings seen by The Guardian, TikTok said that selling its assets “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally."

In its appeal, TikTok had claimed preventing its 170 million users in the US from accessing its platform was a violation of free speech as stated by the First Amendment.

The appeal had been brought before the Supreme Court after TikTok was unsuccesful in overturning the ban at the District of Columbia appeals court in December.

In a statement, Supreme Court justices wrote "We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed."

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Incoming US President Donald Trump, who is set to be inaugurated in Washington DC just one day after the ban, had pledged to "save TikTok" — filing a "friend of the court" brief requesting the law be paused until after he takes office.

In a statement to CBS News, Trump's attorney John Sauer said the incoming President "takes no position on the merits of the dispute."

"Instead, he urges the Court to stay the statute's effective date to allow his incoming Administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government's national security concerns.”

According to The Guardian, Trump has the option of directing the Justice Department to ignore the Supreme Court's decision following his inauguration on Monday (January 20). Outgoing President Joe Biden has said that he will not enforce the ban during his remaining time in office.

Speaking to CNN following the ruling today (January 17), Trump said: "It ultimately goes up to me, so you're going to see what I'm going to do."

We will continue to update this story with new developments.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter