Justices' questions focus on national security concerns rather than free speech
With just nine days to go until it's banned in the U.S., things aren't looking great for TikTok. The Supreme Court heard arguments today on TikTok's challenge to the law banning it because of concerns about its Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd.
"Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is in fact subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government? Chief Justice
That and similar questions from the justices made it clear toobservers that ByteDance's defenses aren't winning the hearts and minds of the court.
ByteDance and the thousands of content creators that keep the platform rocking along and entertaining170 million U.S. users have tried to frame the issue as one centering on free speech, which is prominently enshrined in the First Amendment.
It's not absolute
But, sacred though it is, the freedom to speak and publish is not unlimited. The classic example of speech that is not protected is shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater.
The Biden Administration basically cites that argument, saying that Chinese control of TikTok permits a foreign totalitarian adversary to spread propaganda, manipulate the platform's content and collect the data of individual Americans for espionage or blackmail purposes.
Just on the data collection, that seems like a huge concern for the future of the country, Justice
The content creators whose videos, stand-up routines and how-to spiels populate TikTokargue that their users' right to view the content they select deserves protection and they generally minimize the dangers cited by the government.
But the justices and government lawyers arguing for the Biden Administration say the basic issue is that Congress and the White House have deemed that ByteDance has dangerously close ties with the Chinese Communist government.
Texas chimes in
As if being banned by two (so far) of the three branches of the federal government wasn't enough, Texas has waded into the skirmish, charging in a lawsuit that TikTok has beendeceptively marketing its app as safe for minors, despite regularly showing inappropriate and explicit material to children.
"TikTok actively worked to deceive parents and lure children onto their app despite the presence of an overwhelming amount of profane and illicit material, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an email to ConsumerAffairs. Companies may not jeopardize the health and wellbeing of Texas children by blatantly lying about the products they provide.
In a suit filed Jan. 9, Paxton charged thatTikTok lied about its safety standards and concealed the truth about the prevalence of inappropriate and explicit material. Specifically, to deceive parents and maintain its current age rating in major app stores, TikTok falsely represented that the presence of graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, and profanity was infrequent and mild, the suit alleges.
Paxton said an investigation found a virtually endless stream of videos on such topics easily accessible to minors.Paxton previously sued TikTok for violating the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act by unlawfully operating its platform in a manner that puts the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk.
What's a TikTokto do?
If, as expected, the court turns down TikTok's plea, come Jan. 19 it will be illegal for TikTok to continue operating and posting its material. ByteDance would then have just afew options:
- Sell the business. ByteDance has said it would not consider unloading the platform but it may not have much choice if the decision goes against it.
- Go rogue. Presumably, ByteDance could continue hosting the site on servers outside the United States but, while that's theoretically possible, it would be very difficult to implement and maintain. Operating a gigantic web platform isn't like running a single server. It would require continued services from U.S. tech companies that now provide routing, caching and any number of other tasks. Those companieswould face enormous fines if they continuing aiding in the distribution of TikTok.
- Close TikTokdown and dispose of its intellectual property. It could presumably sell off the most popular videos to other platforms and simply retire as an ongoing U.S. business enterprise. TikTok might become a Facebook feature (it now syndicatessome videos to Facebook, billing them as "Reels"). This would be akin to a television network going out of business and selling off its most popular shows.
It will be missed
To a certain extent, it's a generational debate, with younger consumers depending on TikTok and older ones largely dismissing it as a silly waste of time. It's also criticized for some of its racier content, which critics say amounts to sexual exploitation.
Younger Americans, in fact, seem to see TikTok as something more than an algorithm-driven mishmash of entertainment. shameless self-promotion, online retailing and, believe it or not, news.
A recent survey conducted by Numerator found that31% of U.S. adult consumers use TikTok, making it the fifth-most-popular social media app behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, although its support falls off with age:
- 76% of Gen Z use it,
- 40% of Millennials,
- 36% of Gen X, and
- 18% of Baby Boomers.
TikTok users are not only loyal, they also tend to be heavy mobile users, with 41% saying they spend more than six hours per day using mobile devices compared to 31% of all consumers.
Lobbyists and promoters for TikTokhave been heard to say that its young fans will remember the ban and seek retribution in the next election. Threats like that are easy to make but in the thick-skinned atmosphere on Capitol Hill they are regarded as being about as significant as, say, a cat's meow.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2025-01-10 22:17:12
