WASHINGTON (AP) — The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court on Friday, with the justices largely holding the app's fate in their hands.
The popular social media platform says the law violates the First Amendment and should be struck down.
TikTok's parent company is based in China, and the U.S. government says that means it is a potential national security threat. Chinese authorities could force it to hand over sensitive data on the huge number of Americans who use it or could influence the spread of information on the platform, they say.
An appeals court has upheld the law, which bans TikTok unless it's sold.
The law is set to take effect Jan. 19, the day before a new term begins for President-elect Donald Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on the platform. The Republican says he wants to “save TikTok."
Here are some key things to know about the case:
Not now, but the short-form video-sharing app could be shut down in less than two weeks if the Supreme Court upholds the law.
Congress passed the measure with bipartisan support, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, signed it into law in April.
TikTok’s lawyers challenged the law in court, joined by users and content creators who say a ban would upend their livelihoods. TikTok says the national security concerns are based on inaccurate and hypothetical information.
But a unanimous appeals court panel made up of judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents has upheld the law.
The justices will issue a decision after arguments Friday, a lightning-fast movement by court standards.
The conservative-majority court could drop clues about how it's leaning during oral arguments.
TikTok lawyers have urged the justices to step in before the law takes effect, saying even a monthlong shutdown would cause the app to lose about one-third of its daily American users and significant advertising revenue.
The court could quickly block the law from going into effect before issuing a final ruling, if at least five of the nine justices think it is unconstitutional.
The law is to take effect Jan. 19, the day before Trump takes over as president.
He took the unusual step of filing court documents asking the Supreme Court to put the law on hold so that he could negotiate a deal for the sale of TikTok after he takes office. His position marked the latest example of him inserting himself into national issues before he takes office. It also was a change from his last presidential term, when he wanted to ban it.
Parent company ByteDance has previously said it has no plans to sell. Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, last month.
Free-speech advocacy groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have urged the court to block the law, saying the government hasn't shown credible evidence of harm and a ban would cause “extraordinary disruption” in Americans' lives.
On the other side, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican former Senate leader, and a group of 22 states have filed briefs in support, arguing that the law protects free speech by safeguarding Americans' data and preventing the possible manipulation of information on the platform by Chinese authorities.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
FILE - A TikTok sign is displayed on top of their building in Culver City, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Israel’s army confirmed Friday that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamzah AlZayadni.
His body was retrieved with that of his father, Yosef AlZayadni, who were taken together when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel 15 months ago. His father was quickly identified, while his son’s remains were sent for verification.
In recent weeks, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Palestinians and family members of hostages who were killed in captivity have been imploring the Israeli government and world leaders for a ceasefire deal.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday that 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight. It has said women and children were more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it says militants operate in residential areas. Israel's air and ground operations have driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
Here's the latest:
ISTANBUL — Turkey “does not have any secret agenda” in Syria and wants to construct a “new culture of cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.
One of Turkey’s priorities in the upcoming year is to clear the region of terrorism, Fidan said, referring to Kurdish militants based in northeast Syria. “The extensions of the separatist group in Syria are now facing destruction and the old order is no longer going to continue,” he told a news conference in Istanbul.
Fidan also criticized the United States’ support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as the U.S. seeks to prevent a revival of the Islamic State group.
“This kills the spirit of alliance and solidarity,” Fidan said. He said Turkey is “not going to shy away from taking the necessary steps” in terms of military action.
Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by Turkey and other states.
Referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments that U.S. troops should stay in Syria, Fidan dismissed the views of the outgoing U.S. administration. “This is the problem of the new government and the old government does not have a say in this,” he said.
The SDF is currently involved in fighting the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
Fidan also backed suggestions for Syrian Kurds to join a new national military but said all non-Syrians fighting for the SDF –- a reference to those with ties to the PKK -– should leave the country.
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The president of Cyprus says he will be the first head of state to meet with the newly elected president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun.
President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters Friday that he would be meeting Aoun when he departs for Lebanon around midday Friday.
Christodoulides said he knows Aoun “well” from his tenure as chief of Lebanon’s armed forces.
He said the meeting is indicative of the role that Cyprus, as a European Union member closest to the Middle East, can play in helping to “meet the challenges that have arisen in the region.”
In a written statement, Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said Christodoulides will also discuss with Aoun Lebanon’s internal issues and to convey Cyprus’ readiness to provide any needed assistance and to strengthen relations with its neighbor.
Cyprus is less than 200 kilometers (130 miles) from the Lebanese capital Beirut and has provided the country with military assistance to prop up its armed forces.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s army confirmed Friday that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamzah AlZayadni.
The army said Friday that the identification was made by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel’s police and the family has been notified. The army said its forces recovered the bodies of Hamzah and his father from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area and returned them to Israel.
His father, Yosef AlZayadni, had been identified earlier this week. The father and son were thought to still be alive before this week’s announcement. They were kidnapped together from Kibbutz Holit, when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The news comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free remaining hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza. Israel says about a third of the remaining 100 hostages have died, but believes as many as half could be dead. Their fates could ramp up pressure on Israel to move forward with a deal.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents families of the hostages, said Hamzah was a nature lover who had deep affection for animals and was beloved by his friends. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An oil tanker that burned for weeks and threatened a massive oil spill in the Red Sea has been salvaged, a security firm said Friday.
The Sounion had been a disaster-in-waiting in the waterway, with 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard that had been struck and later sabotaged with explosives by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It took months for salvagers to tow the vessel away, extinguish the fires and offload the remaining crude oil.
The Houthis initially attacked the Greek-flagged Sounion tanker on Aug. 21 with small-arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer rescued its crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, and took them to nearby Djibouti.
The Houthis later released footage showing they planted explosives on board the Sounion and ignited them in a propaganda video, which the rebels have done before.
The Houthis have targeted some 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. The rebels maintain they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict.
In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is sworn in as a new president, at the Lebanese parliament, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Lebanese Parliament media office via AP)
Members of the Bedouin community carry the body of Yosef Al Zaydani, who was in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, a day after the Israeli army said his body was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, during his funeral in Rahat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
