TikTok on the Clock: A Courthouse Steps Oral Argument on TikTok, Inc. v. Garland

In TikTok, Inc. v. Garland (consolidated with Firebaugh v. Garland) the Court is set to consider whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA)(enacted by Congress in April 2024), as applied to petitioners, violates the First Amendment.

Put forward as a law focused on national security, PAFACA would require that TikTok either cease operations in the United States or have its parent company ByteDance sell off the American segment of the company by January 19, 2025. The government contends that TikTok poses a notable national security threat given the data it, as a foreign-owned company, collects on American users and the extent to which it could be used to control information (or disinformation) flow to American users. TikTok, along with several users, on the other hand, challenged the law, contending that while there may be a legitimate government interest in national security, the means employed in this case violate the free speech rights of both TikTok and its American users who use the platform to create content. The DC Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Ginsburg, upheld the law against a First Amendment challenge.

The Supreme Court granted cert on December 18, 2024, and oral argument is set for January 10, 2025. Join us for a panel Courthouse Steps program following oral argument.

Featuring:

• Corbin K. Barthold, Internet Policy Counsel and Director of Appellate Litigation, TechFreedom
• Christian Corrigan, Solicitor General, Montana Attorney General's Office
• (Moderator) Casey Mattox, Vice President, Legal Strategy, Stand Together

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.