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Cato Daily Podcast

Supreme Court Allows TikTok Divest-or-Ban Order to Proceed

Jan 17, 2025
Tommy Berry, a scholar at the Cato Institute, dives into the Supreme Court's decision allowing a federal order for TikTok's potential ban in the U.S. He unpacks the implications for free speech on social media and critiques the court's reasoning with respect to intermediate scrutiny. The discussion raises important questions about the selective targeting of TikTok over other platforms and the underlying motivations tied to national security. Berry highlights the precarious balance between data privacy and free expression in the digital age.
12:36

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Quick takeaways

  • The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the TikTok ban highlights significant concerns regarding data privacy and the standards of speech protection in the digital age.
  • The ruling raises critical questions about government transparency and free speech, as it may set a troubling precedent for regulating social media platforms.

Deep dives

Supreme Court Decision on TikTok Ban

The Supreme Court upheld a decision to ban the social media app TikTok, declaring that the law does not trigger strict scrutiny protections for speech. This ruling stems from an interpretation that the law's rationale is not based on the platform's content or particular speakers, even though it explicitly names TikTok. The court focused on data privacy concerns due to TikTok’s extensive user base of 170 million, applying only intermediate scrutiny, which presents a lower standard of protection. As a result, the court did not need to fully evaluate alternative measures for addressing these privacy concerns, which could have impacted the law's legitimacy.

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