BREAKING: Supreme Court rules in favor of TikTok ban

A unanimous unsigned opinion from the court read, "We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate the petitioners' First Amendment rights," upholding the lower court's decision to uphold the law forcing the sale of TikTok.

TikTok filed a free speech lawsuit against the US government when the law was passed, and if no sale of the platform takes place, the app will technically be banned in the US.

"It is not clear that the Act itself directly regulates protected expressive activity, or conduct with an expressive component. Indeed, the Act does not regulate the creator petitioners at all. And it directly regulates ByteDance Ltd. and TikTok Inc. only through the divestiture requirement," the opinion stated.

The court later added, "There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."

It is unclear as to what will happen yet, as President-elect Donald Trump has said that he is in favor keeping the app available to Americans and the Biden administration has signaled that it will not take steps to enforce the ban, NBC News reported.

The app has raised national security concerns for years in the US as China has targeted American companies to steal information. Recently, the country was able to hack into work stations at the US Treasury Department. Congress as well as the Biden administration have also banned the use of TikTok on government-issued phones.

The White House, in response to the ruling, said, "The Administration, like the rest of the country, has awaited the decision just made by the U.S. Supreme Court on the TikTok matter. President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law."

TikTok v Garland by Hannah Nightingale