TikTok on the Apple app store Jan. 10, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Friday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal law that will effectively ban TikTok starting Sunday if it isn’t sold by ByteDance, its Chinese owners.
The effort has long been in the works, and the original bill to ban the app if not sold was brought forward by former 8th District representative Mike Gallagher, a longtime critic of the Chinese government.
Friday on ‘X,’ Gallagher responded to the ruling saying the goal was never to ban the app.
Gallagher went on to say that the threat of TikTok vanishing would not exist “had ByteDance spent as much time pursuing a divestment as it had trying to manipulate our political system.”
“If the app goes dark, ByteDance will have no one to blame but itself,” Gallagher added.
In the unanimous SCOTUS ruling, the justices agreed the app’s threat to national security was greater than concerns about limiting its user’s First Amendment Right.
Following the ruling, Gallagher’s successor, Representative Tony Wied provided a statement:
While I share my colleague’s concerns about the security risks posed by Chinese-owned TikTok, I’m hopeful that President Trump will find a reasonable compromise that will protect Americans from Chinese propaganda, safeguard their personal data, and allow them to continue using TikTok safely.
Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson both supported the ban.
In January of 2023, Governor Tony Evers banned the app from all state-owned devices after Senator Johnson, Gallagher, and bicameral leaders called on him to do so. The University of Wisconsin System quickly followed suit.
Senator Baldwin provided a statement following the SCOTUS ruling:
I want TikTok to be safely available for the 170 million Americans who use it, but the issue I have always had is the ownership of the application and China’s access to our personal data. An easy solution to keep TikTok has been on the table for months: for TikTok to simply sell to a trusted buyer so the platform remains available for millions of Americans – and it is more urgent than ever they do just that.
Comments