The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on a challenge to the TikTok ban.

• The U.S. Constitution's free speech protections will be examined by the justices to determine if a law banning TikTok in the U.S. is constitutional.
• If ByteDance does not divest TikTok to an American company, it may face a complete nationwide ban, and the court has not yet decided when it will make a decision.
• The law imposes harsh civil penalties for app entities that continue to carry TikTok after Jan.19.

On Friday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the TikTok case, which could result in a ban of the app in the U.S. as early as next week.

The justices will examine whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which prohibits TikTok and imposes severe civil penalties on app "entities" that continue to provide the service after January 19, violates the U.S. Constitution's free speech protections.

If ByteDance does not divest TikTok to an American company, it may face a complete nationwide ban, and the court has not yet decided when it will make a decision.

What will change about the user experience?

A decision by the Supreme Court could result in various outcomes for the approximately 115 million monthly active TikTok users in the U.S.

If the ban goes through on Jan. 19 and no word comes before it, users who already have the app downloaded may still be able to post or engage with it. However, they would likely be unable to update or redownload the app after that date, according to multiple legal experts.

TikTok's short-form video creators who earn money through ad revenue, paid partnerships, merchandise, and more may need to shift their businesses to other platforms, such as YouTube or Instagram.

The shutdown of TikTok, even for a day, would be a significant event not only for content creators on the platform but also for everyone who uses it to share or view content, according to George Wang, a staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute who helped write the institute's amicus briefs on the case.

Wang stated that it establishes a perilous precedent for regulating online speech.

Who supports and opposes the ban?

Numerous prominent amicus briefs were submitted by groups, congressional members, and President-elect Trump in favor of both the government and ByteDance.

The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, claims that TikTok, owned by ByteDance, is a potent tool for espionage and covert influence operations, and must be divested of until it is no longer a threat to national security.

Trump's brief did not express support for either side, but it requested the court to prevent the ban of the platform and enable him to resolve the national security concerns through a political solution that allows the service to remain operational.

In 2024, the short-form video app played a significant role in both Trump and Harris' presidential campaigns, and it's a popular news source among younger voters.

In his amicus brief, Trump stated that Americans who want to save TikTok should vote for him, as he wrote in a September Truth Social post in all caps.

What comes next?

The Supreme Court may issue a quick ruling on the case due to its expedited hearing, although the exact date of the ruling is uncertain.

The large user base of TikTok in the U.S. will have significant consequences, according to Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law.

"The government's prohibition of speech platforms is unprecedented, particularly given their widespread use," Chemerinsky stated. "This presents a conflict between free speech rights and national security concerns."

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