LEILA FADEL, HOST:
TikTok and the Department of Justice are in court today in a case that could determine the future of the app.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A federal law that takes effect in January may ban TikTok in the United States.
FADEL: NPR's Bobby Allyn is covering the case in Washington and joins us now. Good morning, Bobby.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: OK. So what's expected to happen in court today?
ALLYN: Well, TikTok's going to be fighting for its survival in front of a panel of three federal judges. It's an hour of oral arguments, and it's really high stakes here, right? There's billions of dollars, 170 million users in America and really, Leila, the future of online speech. All of that is at stake. And, you know, the stakes are so high because of what happened last spring, when Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that would put TikTok out of business in the U.S. unless it gets out of its Chinese ownership.
FADEL: Why is Washington so concerned with TikTok's Chinese ownership?
ALLYN: Yeah. You know, these days, it's really hard to find any lawmaker in Washington who supports TikTok being owned by a Beijing-based tech company. And that's because the U.S. says TikTok is a national security threat, right? The Biden administration fears the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread pro-China propaganda or, you know, misuse the data of millions of Americans. So again, we'll see oral arguments this morning, with both sides kind of, you know, making their case for and against TikTok's existence in the U.S. And the outcome could decide whether TikTok has any future here.
FADEL: So what evidence does the government have against TikTok?
ALLYN: Yeah. I think that's really a big part of this case, actually. And that's because a lot of the evidence against TikTok is classified and, as a result, not publicly available. You and I can't see it. TikTok has been pushing to declassify all of that. But the Biden administration says the information it has on TikTok is so sensitive that releasing it could cause, quote, "exceptionally grave" damage to American national security, right?
Here's what we can say, though. China experts say it's possible that Beijing could access Americans' data or use TikTok to try to, you know, sway public opinion or influence an American election. But so far, we do not have any evidence of that happening. And TikTok said it's taken really drastic steps to kind of cordon off TikTok's Chinese parent company from its U.S. operations, but in the White House, officials have become hardened against TikTok. Their position is, completely sever ties with China or be shut down for good.
FADEL: And when do we expect a decision?
ALLYN: Yeah. A decision isn't expected today. But there is a looming deadline, January 19, right? That's TikTok's legal deadline for finding a buyer or facing a nationwide ban. And (laughter) as I already mentioned, they said it's not for sale, so this legal challenge is basically their last shot. Many observers are saying that that January 19 TikTok ban date could be extended. But if the court doesn't offer an extension and sides with the Department of Justice, the undoing of TikTok in the U.S. will begin.
FADEL: I mean, TikTok is so popular, especially with younger people. How are TikTokers responding to all this?
ALLYN: Yeah, you know, a group of TikTok creators actually have a lawyer representing their interests in the case. You know, their argument is that a ban would deprive them of their ability to exercise their free speech on the app. There's lots of political content on the app, as we know. And for many creators, though, there's a bit of a TikTok ban fatigue, right? It's kind of understandable, Leila. We've been talking about TikTok maybe being banned for four years now, right?
FADEL: (Laughter) Yeah.
ALLYN: So it's kind of head-spinning. I will say this time is different, OK? We have a federal law on the books, on the verge of taking effect. And unless TikTok's legal challenge is successful, the app's going to be squeezed out of existence.
FADEL: NPR's Bobby Allyn. Thank you, Bobby.
ALLYN: Thanks, Leila.
(SOUNDBITE OF VENTI'S "FRESH OPPORTUNITIES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
