PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the fate of the popular social media app TikTok.
In April, Congress passed a law requiring TikTok to divest from its Chinese-owned parent company, Bytedance, or be banned and removed from app stores in the U.S.
Lawyers representing TikTok and its creators argue the law violates the First Amendment and users’ freedom of speech.
Lawyers from the Biden administration argue that Chinese ownership poses a risk to national security.
TikTok has 170 million users in the U.S., and some even make their living through the app.
One Oregon small business owner is cautiously optimistic that TikTok will not be banned, and attributes his company’s success to sales made through the app.
Reliant Pet is a mouse deterrent that is made in Oregon. The creator of the product, Devin Schultz, said since he lives in the small town of Scio, he mainly relies on online sales.
“I wanted to get my brand in front of people as fast as possible and TikTok provided that at a way cheaper cost than other platforms,” Schultz said.
Some videos Schultz posts on TikTok get hundreds of thousands of views, and when he partners with other creators on the app he said his sales go up even more.
“When he posted up a product video, in that first week of launch, we did $20,000 worth of sales,” Schultz said.
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After months of successful business, Schultz is worried it could all come to a screeching halt.
“Why would they shut something down that would make so many people like me, a small business owner money?” Schultz said.
With the deadline for TikTok to divert from its Chinese parent company quickly approaching, Schultz hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the ban passed by Congress.
“I’m really banking on TikTok staying with us because their algorithm and everything they have going on has really been awesome and has helped out a ton of people,” Schultz said.
During the more than two-hour-long hearing Friday, the justices asked many tough questions of the lawyers representing TikTok. Their questioning revolved around why TikTok is so opposed to selling its algorithm to an American company, and whether or not it is really a First Amendment issue at all.
The Supreme Court has not issued its opinion yet, but the clock is ticking. If they do not overturn the ban, TikTok will have to be removed from app stores on Jan. 19.
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