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Supreme Court Could Rule On TikTok Ban Wednesday—After Signaling It May Uphold Law
Forbes ^ | Jan 13, 2025 | Alison Durkee

Posted on 01/13/2025 3:39:30 PM PST by MinorityRepublican

The Supreme Court could rule on TikTok’s fate as soon as Wednesday, after justices signaled during oral arguments Friday they may uphold the federal law banning TikTok unless it divests itself from ByteDance, expressing skepticism of TikTok’s opposition to the policy.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday over whether the federal law—which requires TikTok to separate from parent company ByteDance or else be banned—is in violation of the First Amendment.

While it’s unclear when the court will rule in the case, the court has announced it will release opinions in pending cases on Wednesday, which could include a ruling on the TikTok ban.

TikTok and content creators on the app argued the ban violates their First Amendment rights by cutting off all speech on the platform, while the federal government argued the ban is necessary for national security, given ByteDance’s Chinese ownership.

Justices on both sides of the aisle appeared skeptical of TikTok’s arguments on Friday, with Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett questioning how TikTok’s First Amendment rights are implicated when the law is specifically targeting ByteDance—a foreign-owned company—and its algorithm.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested TikTok was “wrong” that the case violates its First Amendment rights, and said she thought the case was more about TikTok wanting to associate with ByteDance than its speech being silenced.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the federal law was “not a burden on” TikTok and its users’ “expression at all,” arguing Congress was fine with users’ speech on the app but just not a “foreign adversary” gathering information about the app’s users.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ccp; ccpcognitivewarfare; chicoms; china; commiemalware; huawei; tiktok
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1 posted on 01/13/2025 3:39:30 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

This is insane. Tiktok helped Trump win, big-time. That’s probably why Biden pushed this, but GOP was stupid to go along with it.


2 posted on 01/13/2025 3:54:52 PM PST by montag813
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To: montag813

I think Trump wants to decide on the ban. Yes, it may have been the “Twitter” of election 2024 benefitting Trump (globally).

He may want to use it as a negotiating tool.


3 posted on 01/13/2025 3:59:10 PM PST by tsowellfan
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To: MinorityRepublican

“TikTok and content creators on the app argued the ban violates their First Amendment rights by cutting off all speech on the platform”

They were probably silent when Twitter was doing the same thing to conservatives.


4 posted on 01/13/2025 4:01:43 PM PST by FrankRizzo890
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To: montag813

The graphic noted that Trump's @realdonaldtrump TikTok account, with 14.7 million followers, has garnered 1.4 billion total views. The @teamtrump campaign account, which has 8.3 million followers, has amassed 2.4 billion total views.

5 posted on 01/13/2025 4:03:04 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

In the USA TikTok is probably running on either Android or Iphone software.

The TikTok app would be downloaded from an app store. I know of two. The TikTok software source code could be reviewed by a trusted US company, compiled, and placed on the app stores.


6 posted on 01/13/2025 4:08:56 PM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: montag813

>> GOP was stupid

the Stupid Party


7 posted on 01/13/2025 4:10:47 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: MinorityRepublican

Dear American Partner:

Xi says you need to sell your 49% share to us. There are financial problems in China right now. We can’t pay much.

Your mandatory Chinese partner


8 posted on 01/13/2025 4:11:01 PM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: MinorityRepublican

Everyone who posts on this site should assume the US government has access to every keystroke on every device they use.


9 posted on 01/13/2025 4:11:58 PM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: MinorityRepublican

Dear President Trump:

We need to import TikTok experts from China. The TikTok software is documented in Cantonese.

US Buyer of TikTok


10 posted on 01/13/2025 4:16:17 PM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: montag813

TikTok is China’s Trojan horse which is spying on Americans on a massive industrial level. At the same time it dumbs-down our youth back to the stone age.
TikTok must be banned urgently.

Every conservative I know want it banned without question.
But the woke youth just want more and more of that junk. TikTok is made for digital junkies.

Trump evidently doesn’t need Chinese help to win. He never needed TikTok.


11 posted on 01/13/2025 4:18:12 PM PST by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: USA-FRANCE

Check out my reply #5 and provide a rebuttal.


12 posted on 01/13/2025 4:19:48 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: montag813

” Tiktok helped Trump win, big-time. “

TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of the CCP.


13 posted on 01/13/2025 4:26:33 PM PST by dljordan (What would Michael Collins do?)
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To: dljordan
TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of the CCP.

And?

14 posted on 01/13/2025 4:27:46 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: dljordan

have you watched anything on tiktok?...


15 posted on 01/13/2025 4:28:54 PM PST by heavy metal (smiling improves your face value and makes people wonder what the hell you're up to... 😁)
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To: heavy metal

Couple of things.

The CCP collects user data and builds profiles.


16 posted on 01/13/2025 4:31:45 PM PST by dljordan (What would Michael Collins do?)
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To: dljordan

our federal government does the same thing...


17 posted on 01/13/2025 4:34:59 PM PST by heavy metal (smiling improves your face value and makes people wonder what the hell you're up to... 😁)
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To: MinorityRepublican

“Check out my reply #5 and provide a rebuttal.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Answer / rebuttal.

Concerning TikTok’s “role” in Trump’s campaign success... not so much.
While the numbers cited about Trump’s TikTok accounts (both personal and campaign) are undeniably impressive, they do not directly prove that TikTok played a decisive role in helping him win.

Engagement vs influence... THAT is the question !

Views and follower counts do not necessarily equate to political persuasion or votes. Social media metrics often reflect curiosity or entertainment value rather than direct political support.
TikTok is primarily an entertainment platform, and many users may engage with content without aligning ideologically or translating their engagement into voting action.

TikTok’s user base skews younger, with a significant portion of its users being under 30. This demographic is historically less likely to vote compared to older age groups.

Also, a large percentage of TikTok users are international and ineligible to vote in the United States, meaning a substantial portion of those views are irrelevant to election outcomes.

Winning an election is not solely dependent on social media “metrics”. Ground campaigns, debate performance, voter turnout efforts, and policy platforms are FAR more influential.
The majority of political analysts attribute election outcomes to economic conditions, party alignment, and key issues, rather than any single platform.

TikTok’s short-form video style often emphasizes sensationalism, humor, or trends over substantive policy discussion. While Trump’s team may have used TikTok effectively to boost visibility, the platform’s inherent nature limits its ability to foster ideological shifts.

The mere existence of high view counts does not prove causation. Many views could be attributed to pre-existing supporters or even critics engaging with the content, making it difficult to measure the platform’s true impact on undecided or swing voters.

Thus... :
Although TikTok provided Trump with some additional visibility, it is unlikely to have been a determining factor in his campaign success. The platform’s role should be viewed as a supplementary tool for engagement rather than a decisive influence on the election outcome.


18 posted on 01/13/2025 5:25:38 PM PST by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: USA-FRANCE
TikTok’s user base skews younger, with a significant portion of its users being under 30. This demographic is historically less likely to vote compared to older age groups.

Correct.

Typically, young voters lean left. But Trump was able to reach out to them through TikTok and X bypassing the narrative presented by the liberal media in 2020.

We are provided a voice through TikTok and X.

Take away TikTok and X, the Left will be able to reestablish the narrative.

This is their goal.

19 posted on 01/13/2025 5:32:15 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican
China mulls potential sale of TikTok US to Musk, Bloomberg News reports
20 posted on 01/13/2025 5:35:36 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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