US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

Unless Bytedance sells the platform, the app will go dark on Jan. 19.

It appears as though TikTok’s time has run out.

After agreeing to hear arguments from TikTok’s owner, Bytedance, the Supreme Court has unanimously sided with Congress, which passed a law banning the social media platform for security reasons.

While this isn’t necessarily the end of the app, its future is more in doubt than ever before. If Bytedance wants TikTok to continue, it will have to sell the app, which is something the Chinese company has said it wouldn’t do.

However, that hasn’t stopped online speculation about potential buyers, like Elon Musk or Mr. Beast, though nothing substantive has been announced. There is also a chance incoming president, Donald Trump, might do something to protect the social platform.

According to Canadian media experts, while this is a U.S. ban, for advertisers in the country who are part of a U.S. structure or follow a U.S. strategy, it could have repercussions. If the app’s most popular content creators are no longer able to use the platform, Canada could also see a massive decrease in user-generated content. This would affect usage and viewership, especially within the younger demographic. A ban would also impact product discoverability in Canada.

That said, the app isn’t having better luck in Canada. While it hasn’t been banned here, TikTok has been ordered to shut down its business activities by the Canadian federal government. The gov said the decision was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows the review of foreign investments that may be detrimental to national security. TikTok has challenged the order, having filed a notice of application for a judicial review in Vancouver’s Federal Court on Dec. 5.

More to come.

With files from Andrea Hernandez and Nicholas Sokic