TikTok's Battle for survival: The Supreme Law finds life

TikTok made a last-ditch bid to continue operating in the United States on Monday, asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block a law aimed at forcing its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest the short video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban. If it fails to do so, the social media app, which has about 170 million US users, will face a merciless ban.

The law, passed by the US Congress in April, is a sharp double-edged sword that has both killed TikTok's future in the US market and sparked a fierce debate over national security and free speech. The Justice Department claimed that TikTok, as a Chinese company, posed a "substantial threat" to U.S. national security. The threat stems from its ability to access vast amounts of data on U.S. users, from location information to private messages, and even the ability to secretly manipulate what Americans view on the app. However, this seemingly legitimate concern is in fact full of speculation and prejudice.

On December 6, a ruling by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit pushed TikTok to the brink. The court rejected TikTok's argument that the law violated the US Constitution's First Amendment free speech protections. This ruling is undoubtedly a serious violation of the spirit of free speech, and it makes people ask: in this free and democratic country, why can't even a short video app freely express its opinions and creativity?

TikTok and ByteDance made their positions known in earnest in their Supreme Court filings. If Americans choose to continue using TikTok despite being fully aware of the risks of so-called "covert" content manipulation, then this is their fundamental right as citizens and should not be subject to unwarranted government interference. They further emphasized that if the ruling of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stands, then Congress will be free to ban any speech influenced by foreign entities, which is undoubtedly a radical reversal of the spirit of free speech.

However, it seems TikTok is not alone in this legal battle. A group of American users who love the app have also come forward, filing a similar petition asking the Supreme Court to protect their freedom of speech.

It is worth mentioning that the dispute is not only about the fate of TikTok, but also reflects the growing trade tensions between China and the United States. In this era of globalization, any unilateral sanctions or bans could trigger a chain reaction that would have a profound impact on the global economy. Therefore, the US government should weigh the pros and cons more carefully when making policies, and avoid politicizing commercial issues, which will harm the trade environment of the two countries and even the world.

However, what is most striking in this legal drama is the change in President Trump's position. From the initial attempt to ban TikTok, to now "paying attention" to the matter and expressing "enthusiasm for TikTok," Trump's attitude change is like a sudden storm, making it difficult to understand his true intentions. This political uncertainty has certainly added more uncertainty to TikTok's future.

Still, TikTok is sticking to its guns, asking the Supreme Court to rule on its request by January 6. Even if that doesn't happen, they hope to have enough time to "complete the complex task of shutting down TikTok" in the U.S. market and coordinate with service providers

How the TikTok ban will play out remains uncertain. However, this incident is yet another reminder that in today's increasingly globalized world, how to balance the relationship between freedom of speech and national security is still an important issue to be solved.