Advisory Opinions What’s Next for TikTok
16 snips
Jan 29, 2026 A deep dive on whether the new TikTok ownership deal complies with the 2024 ban-or-sale law and the rule-of-law questions around enforcement delays. Conversation turns to content moderation as corporate speech and emerging litigation over platform addiction. Federal Tort Claims Act basics and recent circuit rulings on gun rights, sensitive places, and qualified immunity round out the legal roundup.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
TikTok Deal Appears Legally Ambiguous
- The TikTok deal leaves ByteDance as a powerful minority owner and licensor of the recommendation algorithm, raising compliance doubts with the ban-or-sale law.
- Sarah Isgur and David French both view the arrangement as legally ambiguous and potentially noncompliant with Congress's prohibition on cooperation.
Rule-Of-Law Failure Over TikTok Timeline
- David French calls the year-long delay and the eventual deal a failure of the rule of law and suggests political favoritism influenced the outcome.
- He warns the executive's defiance of a congressional statute produced a troubling precedent regardless of the deal's final terms.
Moderation Is Corporate Speech, But Algorithm Status Unclear
- Platform moderation decisions are corporate speech and generally not government action unless the government compels them.
- The NetChoice case left open whether algorithmic recommendation itself qualifies as corporate speech, a crucial unresolved question.
