TikTok – A First Look at the Briefs
Patent – Patently-O 2024-12-27
Summary:
Briefs are trickling in for the Supreme Court’s fast-paced battle over the upcoming TikTok ban. The outcome of TikTok v. Garland will likely be a watershed moment for free speech in the digital age — especially with respect to non-US media. This post walks through the six amicus briefs all filed early. Three support TikTok and its content creator co-petitioners; and three agree with the appellate court and U.S. government that the ban is appropriate.
- ACLU/EFF Brief
- KNIGHT FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE Brief
- Human Rights Brief
- TEACHOUT Brief
- ADVANCING AMERICAN FREEDOM Brief
- Rand Paul Brief
As background: TikTok has over 170 million U.S. users but is ultimately owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which under Chinese law must share data and comply with Chinese Communist Party directives. After years of bipartisan concern about TikTok’s data collection practices and potential for content manipulation, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACAA) in April 2024 with strong support from both parties, and President Biden signed it into law. The Act effectively requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners by January 19, 2025, or face a ban on U.S.