Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz criticizes the Supreme Court's recent unanimous decision on TikTok during a television appearance.
According to Daily Caller, the renowned legal expert expressed strong disapproval of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the TikTok ban, describing it as a "B-minus" effort that resembles a law clerk's first draft during his appearance on Newsmax's "The Record with Greta Van Susteren."
The Supreme Court's ruling maintains that TikTok must either be sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance or face a complete ban in the United States. This decision affects approximately 170 million American users and stems from national security concerns regarding the platform's ties to China. Dershowitz argues that the ruling was hastily made and incorrectly applies legal standards.
Dershowitz attributes the unanimous decision to what he perceives as a fundamental problem within the current Supreme Court composition.
He points out the absence of true civil libertarians among the justices, contrasting the current court with past justices like Hugo Black, William Douglas, and Arthur Goldberg. The attorney maintains that Justice Neil Gorsuch comes closest to being a civil libertarian among the current justices.
Speaking about the decision, Dershowitz stated:
It [the Supreme Court's decision] was rushed through. It goes through all the standards that you have to apply, and it got it all wrong. I don't like TikTok. I wish it were defeated in the marketplace of ideas. But the idea of preventing 170 million people from having access to it on speculative assumptions about national security, this is not going to have one bit of a positive impact on protecting America's national security.
The controversy surrounding TikTok's security concerns has been supported by evidence from former ByteDance employees who revealed that Chinese Communist Party members within the company possess "superuser" capabilities and access to American users' data through a "backdoor channel."
President Joe Biden signed legislation in April requiring TikTok to divest from Chinese ownership within a year or face a ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit subsequently upheld this decision through a unanimous ruling in December, citing TikTok as a probable national security threat.
President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he would handle the situation through political channels after taking office. This marks a shift from his previous stance, as Trump has recently criticized anti-TikTok legislation, suggesting it could inadvertently benefit Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook platform.
The Chinese embassy has actively opposed the legislation, engaging in lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill during the spring legislative process. Meanwhile, TikTok continues to deny allegations of connections to the Chinese Communist Party, despite studies suggesting the platform frequently promotes content aligned with CCP interests.
The Supreme Court's decision arrives amid mounting evidence of TikTok's data collection practices. The platform faces accusations of gathering information about Americans' political preferences and unlawfully collecting data on children. A study conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University has reinforced concerns about the platform's content alignment with Chinese government interests.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz's critique of the Supreme Court's TikTok ban decision highlights the complex intersection of national security concerns and civil liberties in the digital age. The unanimous ruling, which requires Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok or cease operations in the United States, will affect millions of American users while raising questions about the balance between security measures and freedom of expression.
As the transition to a new administration approaches, the implementation and potential modification of this ban remain subjects of ongoing political and legal discourse.
