Time's Nearly Up For Tiktok
Date
1/13/2025 8:10:13 PM
(MENAFN- Asia Times)
One of the most interesting American sagas in recent years is nearing a conclusion. By January 19, the highly popular social media platform TikTok must either cease operations or be sold.
TikTok's Chinese owner is asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the law requiring this choice. Judging from the questions the justices asked during oral arguments, the court seems likely to uphold the law instead.
The Chinese owner, ByteDance, has opposed selling. With legal alternatives exhausted, though, it might feel it has no choice but to sell. It's said there are potential buyers waiting in the wings.
President-elect Donald Trump, who was initially on the side of shutting TikTok down, now says he would like to save it. He asked the Supreme Court to delay the law so he could try but the court turned him down. Still, it wouldn't be surprising to see him helping broker a sale.
The TikTok story has been curious from the outset. The US believes in freedom of speech for Americans but has not always extended that privilege to foreigners, and especially not to foreigners from adversarial nations. Needless to say, American social-media platforms like Facebook are not allowed to operate in China.
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