Virginia AG urges Supreme Court to uphold law that could ban TikTok

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a law that would essentially ban TikTok if the social media app doesn’t make serious security changes soon.

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Miyare’s issued a statement Friday saying he was filing a 40-page amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court upholding the bipartisan “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which became law in April of this year. The petition was led by Montana’s Attorney General, and 20 other states signed on to support it.

The law gave TikTok about nine months to sever ties with Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, and if it didn’t, a national ban would take effect on January 19.

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The company pushed back, saying the law violated its freedom of speech and the freedom of speech of its roughly 170 million users in America. According to CBS News, it also said it would be nearly impossible to sever ties with ByteDance because of how the app was built.

But earlier this month, a D.C. appeals court denied his request to overturn the law and delay its enforcement date.

Soon the Supreme Court will hear conflicting arguments about the ban.

“Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing its ties to the Chinese Communist Party exposes Americans to the undeniable risks of having their data accessed and exploited by the Chinese Communist Party,” Miyares said in a statement. “Virgins deserve a government that stands firm in protecting their privacy and safety. The Supreme Court now has the chance to reaffirm Congress’ authority to protect Americans from foreign threats while ensuring that the First Amendment does not become a tool to defend the rights of foreign adversaries exploitation. practice.”

The law received bipartisan support.

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Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been outspoken about the security threat posed by the app, but clarified what lawmakers are working toward in a virtual meeting with reporters last Thursday.

“We don’t want to get rid of TikTok, we just don’t want the ownership to be in the hands of an adversary,” Warner said. “Eighty percent of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate agreed.”

On Friday, the same day Miyares filed the notice, President Donald Trump picked the team asked the Supreme Court for more time to resolve the case through negotiationp.

The push to ban TikTok has drawn criticism from users who say the platform has proven successful in building businesses and online communities.

“It’s really just a great way to connect with even more people that we might not be able to connect with on another platform,” said Taylor Scott, founder of RVA Community refrigerators.

Scott said to make video content for the app has helped the nonprofit, which focuses on providing free food and resources to marginalized communities, grow.

“It’s crazy how many people have even come from our TikTok and they come to our in-person meetings, they come to do food days, we’ve even received masks from people in the community who aren’t in Virginia, so It’s like we have our own community on TikTok,” Scott said.

Although Scott said she and other volunteers never considered themselves content creators for the app, they have been brainstorming ways to pivot to expand their reach if the ban goes into effect.

“It’s a really good place for people to learn, and even people who you might not expect, who are on the ground are on TikTok, using it as a search engine to get educated on things like mutual aid, like things that we do , and it’s a great way for people to find resources,” Scott said. “So please reconsider your stance if you’re not geared to keep it, because we really have a lot of great people, resources, and just ways to connect with others on TikTok.”

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