Bobby Allen

Yeah. You know, at this point, Scott, it's really hard to imagine any situation where TikTok is shut down. Even if the Supreme Court comes back and says the ban law is completely legal, it will then be up to the incoming Trump administration to enforce it.

And Trump can instruct his Justice Department to just take a hands-off approach and then try to work out a deal where TikTok is purchased away from its Chinese parent company, thus satisfying the law. So we're We don't know for sure, but for all the TikTokers out there who use the app every day, I think it's fair to say it's unlikely it will be disappearing anytime soon.

And Trump can instruct his Justice Department to just take a hands-off approach and then try to work out a deal where TikTok is purchased away from its Chinese parent company, thus satisfying the law. So we're We don't know for sure, but for all the TikTokers out there who use the app every day, I think it's fair to say it's unlikely it will be disappearing anytime soon.

And Trump can instruct his Justice Department to just take a hands-off approach and then try to work out a deal where TikTok is purchased away from its Chinese parent company, thus satisfying the law. So we're We don't know for sure, but for all the TikTokers out there who use the app every day, I think it's fair to say it's unlikely it will be disappearing anytime soon.

President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to pause enforcement of a law that bans TikTok nationwide on January 19th, the day before Inauguration Day. That's shortly after the high court is set to hear oral arguments over whether the ban is constitutional. It was possible the Supreme Court would have stayed the start date even before the request to allow for time for a decision.

President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to pause enforcement of a law that bans TikTok nationwide on January 19th, the day before Inauguration Day. That's shortly after the high court is set to hear oral arguments over whether the ban is constitutional. It was possible the Supreme Court would have stayed the start date even before the request to allow for time for a decision.

But Trump's filing claims he possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise to negotiate a way to save TikTok, while dealing with the national security concerns. Trump did not take a position on the legal questions facing TikTok, which the court will hear arguments over on January 10th.

But Trump's filing claims he possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise to negotiate a way to save TikTok, while dealing with the national security concerns. Trump did not take a position on the legal questions facing TikTok, which the court will hear arguments over on January 10th.

The Justice Department is pushing for the ban, saying TikTok's China-based owner makes it a national security risk. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

The Justice Department is pushing for the ban, saying TikTok's China-based owner makes it a national security risk. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

Good morning.

Well, in short, because TikTok requested an emergency review. And this is TikTok's last legal shot, right? The company has been fighting a law that is set to take effect on January 19th that bans the app nationwide unless it splits off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

It recently lost a lower court appeal, and now the Supreme Court has scheduled expedited oral arguments, and the hearing is happening in three weeks. What are the main issues the court is being asked to resolve? Yeah, the case is about the balance between free speech and the possible threat of a foreign adversary.

TikTok has long said that the Chinese government doesn't collect data on Americans and does not use the app to push propaganda. But U.S. officials say the risk of that happening is just too high and that the app has to be put out of business unless it sheds its China-based owner. Legal scholars say because of the First Amendment, government restrictions on speech are very hard to uphold in court.

Usually the government can only suppress speech if it's really narrowly tailored to deal with a really specific problem. And a lower court ruled that the Chinese issue is actually enough to justify the ban. But now the Supreme Court is reviewing it and they could just come down differently.

Yeah, that's right. The 170 million Americans on the app and actually TikTok's own free speech rights, they say, as a corporation because they have a L.A.-based company. And using the algorithm and pushing content, courts have shown, is another type of free speech. So there's kind of two free speeches at play here.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. So if the court overturns the law, you know, business as usual for the app. But if it is upheld, it could mean the app is going away very soon. The law is slated to start, you know, in early January. And at that point, TikTok, you know, will be kicked out of app stores on Apple and Android devices. So you won't be able to download it. And the app will lose web hosting services.

So, you know, all the companies that provide back end support for TikTok, they'll have to drop the company. And if this happens, Michelle, it's not like the app's going to disappear from everyone's phone overnight or something. It's just going to get buggy. It's going to get slow. And eventually it's not going to be able to get software updates. So it'll stop working.

You know, backing up for a moment here, though, you know, never before has the Supreme Court taken on a case over the U.S. government trying to shut down a massive social media platform. So this is entering some uncharted territory. And, you know, President-elect Donald Trump's administration is watching very closely. And where does Trump stand on this? Trump has given mixed signals on TikTok.

He said he wanted to save the app and that he credits it with helping young voters turn out for him. But, you know, just this weekend, he said on NBC's Meet the Press if he will rescue the app. And he gave kind of an unclear, wishy-washy answer. Remember, Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term and was not successful.