US Supreme court upholds TikTok ban

The Supreme Court of U.S.A has made a landmark decision regarding TikTok, ruling that the app must be sold to a neutral party by January 19, 2025, or face a ban in the U.S.A. 

This decision comes after TikTok challenged a law passed in April last year, which cited national security concerns due to the app's links to the Chinese government.

This development may seem familiar, as India too banned TikTok and several other Chinese apps in 2020, citing similar concerns.

The U.S' Supreme court has upheld a law requiring TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell the US version of the app to a neutral party by January 19, 2025.

The Biden administration has expressed concerns about TikTok's data collection practices and its relationship with the Chinese government several times. Biden had signed a bipartisan TikTok bill, which gave Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell its controlling stake or be blocked in the US. This is yet to happen. 

If TikTok is banned, it is assumed that Apple and Google will no longer offer the app to new users, and security updates will not be provided to current users.

However, the situation is still unfolding, as Donald Trump is all set to assume office on Monday, January 20, 2025. 

President Biden announced that the Trump administration would decide on TikTok's fate. Although Trump had earlier supported the ban, on December 27, 2024, he had asked the Supreme Court to delay the upcoming ban while he worked on a "political resolution".