TikTok v. Garland: How the Three Branches Have Addressed National Security Concerns Raised in the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary-Controlled Applications Act
By Rose Kelly; Photo Credit: NBC News
On January 17, 2025, the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law to shut down TikTok, a popular social media platform in the US.[1] The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act [the Act] makes it illegal for companies to “distribute, maintain, or update” TikTok unless the platform is severed from Chinese control.[2] The Justices acknowledged the novelty and complexities of social media and its effects on American governance, especially because many government officials know “relatively little” about social media.[3]
The Court respected Congress’s national security concerns, specifically TikTok’s data collection and relationship with China.[4] According to the Court, these “well-supported” concerns over Chinese control of the app made it acceptable for Congress to prioritize protecting Americans by banning the application.[5] Moreover, the Court addressed the overwhelming bipartisan support for the Act.[6] While TikTok Inc. [petitioner] argued this violated constitutional rights of free speech and expression, the Court found the Act did not violate the petitioner’s, nor the 170 million users’ First Amendment rights.[7] This decision reflects the growing intersection of the First Amendment and national security concerns in social media.[8]
The Supreme Court’s decision left ByteDance Ltd., a Chinese company and current owner of TikTok, with two options: either sell an American version of the app by January 19 or face a ban.[9] Ultimately, ByteDance could not sell an American version of the app before the deadline set by the Supreme Court, and Americans lost access to the platform on the evening of January 18, 2024.[10]
During the ban, TikTok displayed a message to its American users: “[ByteDance is] fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”[11] This surprised many because President Trump was adamant about banning the application during his first presidential term.[12] Similarly to Congress and the Supreme Court, the President cited national security concerns as his reasoning for wanting a ban.[13]
After the Supreme Court upheld the ban, President Trump said he would work alongside CEO Shou Chew and find an American buyer for the app.[14] The Act allowed for a temporarily reinstatement if there had been “progress toward a sale before it took effect.”[15] The Act was temporarily lifted by an executive action signed by President Trump on Monday, January 20.[16] Due to his promise to find an American buyer and numerous efforts from American entrepreneurs, TikTok was reinstated in the U.S. less than 24 hours after the ban on Sunday, January 19.[17]
It is unclear why President Trump has changed his tone on TikTok.[18] Since his first term, the President has garnered over $14 million followers on the app, an integral part of his successful presidential campaign.[19] The prompt temporary reinstatement of TikTok raises questions about how President Trump, Congress, and the Supreme Court will address the national security concerns associated with lifting the ban.[20]
Rose Kelly is a second-year student at Vanderbilt Law School from Long Island, New York. After graduation, she plans to return to New York to work in corporate transactional law.
[1] TikTok et al. v. Garland, 604 U.S. __ (2025).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.; Mark Sherman, TikTok Says it will “Go Dark” Unless it Gets Clarity from Biden Following Supreme Court Ruling, Associated Press (Jan. 18, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-tiktok-china-security-speech-166f7c794ee587d3385190f893e52777.
[4] Greg Stohr, Supreme Court Upholds Law That Threatens US TikTok Shutdown (3), Bloomberg Law (Jan. 17, 2025), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/supreme-court-upholds-law-that-threatens-us-tiktok-shutdown.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] See Sherman, supra note 3.
[9] Id.
[10] Sapna Maheshwari et al., TikTok Goes Dark in the U.S., New York Times (Jan. 18, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/technology/tiktok-ban.html.
[11] Id.
[12] Jill Colvin & Barbara Ortutay, From Backing a Ban to Being Hailed as a Savior, Inside Trump’s TikTok Shift, Associated Press (Jan. 19, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-ban-da11df6d59c17e2c17eea40c4042386d.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15]See Sherman, supra note 3.
[16] Clare Duffy & David Goldman, Trump Signs Promised Executive Action to Delay TikTok Ban for 75 Days, CNN Business (Jan. 20, 2025, 10:01 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/tech/tiktok-future-donald-trump-ban-sale/index.html.
[17] Id.
[18] See Colvin & Ortutay, supra note 12.
[19] See Sherman, supra note 3.
[20] Id.