TMTPOST --  The Supreme Court on Friday hit TikTok with ruling in favor of a impending ban in the United States as early as this weekend. TikTok’s future thus lies in president-elect Donald Trump’s hands.  

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The Supreme Court justices unanimously upheld the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the “Act”) that forces TikTok to shutter its U.S. operation unless the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. to divest the super popular short video platform by January 19, this Sunday.

The court rejected TikTok’s call for strict scrutiny as the Act’s prohibitions violate the First Amendment. For the court, U.S. Congress passed the Act and determined that divestiture is necessary to address its “well-supported national security concerns”, which became a deciding factor in how it weighed the case.

The Act imposes TikTok-specific prohibitions due to a foreign adversary’s control over the platform and make divestiture a prerequisite for the platform’s continued operation in the United States, while it does not target particular speech based upon its content, according to the justices.

“Data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age. But TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion released on Friday.

The ruling effectively leads to a U.S. ban TikTok on Sunday if the incoming president Trump doesn’t take any action to save the social media platform. The Act, which went into effect in April 2024, gives ByteDance 270 days to divest its U.S. assets including TikTok, otherwise the Chinese tech giant would face a ban on its app being available in U.S. app stores or on U.S. web hosting services. It also grants the White House the authority to prolong this deadline by another 90 days if the president deems that progress has been made towards a sale.

Trump told CNN he will make his decision on TikTok after the Supreme Court announced its ruling. “It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,” Trump said. Asked if he would take measures to try and reverse the pending ban, Trump responded “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision.” Trump also confirmed he has talked with Chinese President Xi Jinping about TikTok and many other subjects.

“The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation,” Trump said later Friday in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

The Sunday deadline essentially puts enforcement to the next administration, which opens the door for Trump to extend the deadline, Bloomberg quoted two Biden administration officials on Thursday. The Biden administration hadn’t changed its position that TikTok should be sold to a U.S. buyer, but the timing of the statutory deadline effectively means it will be up to the Trump administration to enforce, the aforementioned officials said. One of the officials said TikTok users should not expect an immediate shutdown on Sunday.

Trump is weighing different options to save TikTok, one of which is an executive order that would pause enforcement of a sell-or ban law for 60 to 90 days when he takes office, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s nominee for national security advisor, vowed to keep TikTok operating in U.S. “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Waltz told Fox News on Thursday. Waltz added the law on the impending ban “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table”, so it buys Trump time to keep TikTok going.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer the same day called on other Senators to extend the January 19 deadline for a ban of TikTok. Senate Democrats attempted to pass a bill to extend the deadline, and will continue to work to find “a responsible solution”, accodring to Schumer.  “I will work with the Trump administration and with both parties to keep TikTok alive while protecting our national security,” said Schumer in a press release.