TikTok's time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he 'opposes banning' it

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TikTok's lawyers will today appear before the US Supreme Court in a final attempt to prevent a ban of the platform. Last year the US Congress passed a law ordering that the social media company either be split from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or blocked within the US entirely, with the rationale being that it can be used as a tool of political manipulation and espionage. TikTok disagrees, says it has been unfairly targeted, and any ban violates the free speech of its American userbase.

The case has already been heard in lower courts, which have sided with the US government, and in a typical case the Supreme Court would be unlikely to reverse those rulings. But this one has a little more spice to it, not least because President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers submitted a legal brief that says he "opposes banning TikTok" and wants "the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office." Trump had in his first term called for the platform to be banned. This intervention should have no bearing on the Supreme Court's ruling, though "should" is doing some heavy lifting there because this is without precedent.

The law passed against TikTok had support from both Democrats and Republicans, and followed years of controversy over the hugely popular platform, with particular focus on its alleged ties to the Chinese authorities and influence over young Americans. The US is not alone in having such concerns, with TikTok already banned in India and subject to targeted restrictions elsewhere (it is for example banned from government devices in the UK).

"I don't see any president, including future President Trump, being able to resolve this in a way that's satisfactory for US national security because I don't think ByteDance will agree to it," attorney Peter Choharis, part of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told the BBC. "It's about control and how the Chinese Communist Party specifically, and the Chinese government more generally, pursue strategic aims using many internet firms and especially social media companies—specifically including TikTok."

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."