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1 1 (January 22, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesef0001 and id is 1 raw text is: TikTok Inc. v. Garland: Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to TikTok Divestiture Law January 22, 2025 On Friday, January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court rejected a First Amendment challenge to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACAA or the act). The decision raised immediate questions about whether TikTok, a popular social media platform that allows users to post and view short-form videos displayed through a sophisticated content recommendation algorithm, would be able to continue its U.S. operations. PAFACAA effectively requires TikTok to undergo a qualified divestiture to continue distributing its application (app) to U.S. users. Specifically, PAFACAA makes it unlawful to provide certain services to distribute, maintain, or update ... a foreign adversary controlled application in the United States unless the covered application's owners complete a transaction that deprives the foreign adversary of both control over and any operational relationship with the application. The act expressly defines foreign adversary controlled application to include TikTok. This Legal Sidebar discusses the background of PAFACAA, explains the Supreme Court's decision in TikTok v. Garland, and briefly explores subsequent developments and considerations for Congress. Background and Overview of PAFACAA In August 2020, during his first term in office, President Trump took two executive actions that regulated ByteDance Ltd., the ultimate owner of TikTok, and its ability to operate TikTok in the United States. (Both actions are discussed in a prior Legal Sidebar.) First, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 13942, which exercised authority provided by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to restrict TikTok's U.S. operations. Second, acting under Section 721 of the Defense Production Act, the President ordered ByteDance to divest (1) assets and property used to support the operation of TikTok in the United States and (2) data obtained from TikTok users in the United States. Both executive actions were challenged in court. As a result, E.O. 13942 was preliminarily enjoined before it took effect. TikTok's challenge to President Trump's divestment order was held in abeyance at the parties' request to allow them to negotiate a resolution. In April 2024, Congress stepped in. Congress enacted PAFACAA to regulate foreign adversary controlled applications as well as the app stores and internet hosting services that allow users to access those apps. PAFACAA authorizes the President to determine that applications qualify as foreign adversary controlled applications when they meet certain requirements, but the act was also directed at Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11261 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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