'Bizarre' argument from TikTok’s attorney highlights why SCOTUS ruled 9-0 against company

17 January

In an unanimous ruling handed down on Friday morning, January 17 in TikTok v. Merrick B. Garland, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a TikTok ban that is scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, January 19 unless ByteDance — the video sharing platform's owner in Mainland China — divests itself.

National security and legal experts were quick to weigh in on the ruling. MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin stressed that the High Court viewed the ban as a "national security" matter, not a First Amendment issue.

On MSNBC, former federal prosecutor Berit Berger said that even if President-elect Donald Trump, after being sworn in as president, says he won't enforce the ban, businesses will be unlikely to take comfort in that.

Berger told MSNBC's Ana Cabrera, "The Supreme Court's opinion was very clear. It was very direct….. They didn't leave a lot of wiggle room…. The penalties are incredibly severe for these companies."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) told NBC News he was "disappointed" by the ruling, describing it as a violation of First Amendment rights.

X, formerly Twitter, has been full of reactions to the 9-0 ruling.

Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor Action, tweeted, "UNANIMOUS" with a link to the per curiam in TikTok v. Merrick B. Garland.

Lucci had previously noted the claims of TikTok/ByteDance attorney Noel Francisco, which were made in the case's oral arguments earlier in the month. "Noel Francisco, the attorney for TikTok and ByteDance, bizarrely claims the U.S. government 'has no valid interest in preventing foreign propaganda,'" Lucci wrote on Jan. 10.

Ajit Pai, former director of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), tweeted, "BREAKING: Supreme Court upholds that law requiring ByteDance divestiture of #TikTok is constitutional. 'Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,' and 'the challenged provisions [of the law] do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights.'"

Tech specialist Brian Krassenstein posted, "Should Trump overturn this?" But civil rights attorney Andrew C. Laufer told him, "He can't. It's a law passed by Congress. POTUS can't EO it away. It would have to be repealed…. It's already law. The time to veto passed after Biden signed it into law."

Rush Doshi, director of the CFR China Strategy Initiative and a professor at Georgetown University, applauded the SCOTUS ruling and argued that the justices were correct to see it as a "national security" matter.

Doshi tweeted, "The Supreme Court is out with a unanimous decision upholding the TikTok legislation. They correctly realized this law was content agnostic and that national security concerns were justified. The Biden Administration should enforce and not leave this to Trump, who won't."

Doshi also wrote, "After this decision, if no one enforces the TikTok legislation, and if TikTok’s CEO is on the dais at the inauguration, it’s pretty clear we are not a serious country."

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) also emphasized the "national security" element of the the Court's decision, tweeting, "Glad to see the Supreme Court confirm that it’s legal to compel a sale of TikTok. Let me be clear – I don’t want to see TikTok banned either, but we can’t allow it to continue under its current adversarial ownership. It must be sold to protect our data and national security."

Upfront Ventures' Mark Suster wrote, "Big victory for national security. Unanimous decision by Supreme Court to ban or sell TikTok…. Reminder: China doesn’t allow US social media for the same reason."

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson posted, "Today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban on TikTok marks a tremendous victory for the American people and the protection of our national security. This ruling sends a clear message that safeguarding Americans’ data from the influence of the Chinese Communist Party is not negotiable. This ruling also gives the Trump Administration all the leverage it needs to negotiate a deal with TikTok that does not compromise on American values. South Carolina stands firm in its commitment to protecting the privacy and security of our citizens, and we applaud this decisive step towards keeping our nation safe."

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