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** OPINION
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** The Supreme Court seems likely to rule against TikTok
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Callie Goodwin, of Columbia, S.C., holds a sign in support of TikTok outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Friday. Goodwin, a small business owner who sells personalized greeting cards, says 80% of her sales come from people who found her on TikTok. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

It feels like tick … tick … tick for TikTok. As in, time is running out.

TikTok had its day in the Supreme Court on Friday and the feeling is the court appears likely to uphold the ban on the social media app. Unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise, TikTok must divest from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, by Jan. 19 or, essentially, be banned in the U.S.

The U.S. government fears the Chinese government could force ByteDance to hand over data that would compromise U.S. users. TikTok has said it has not shared U.S. data with the Chinese government and would never do so.

So TikTok took its case to the Supreme Court on Friday and, from the sound of things, the court seems to be leaning away from TikTok. Why? The justices appeared to be concerned about national security.

The Washington Post’s Ann E. Marimow wrote ([link removed]) , “A majority of justices from across the ideological spectrum suggested during more than 2½ hours of oral arguments that the government’s interest in national security justified some restrictions on free speech. They particularly seemed to embrace Congress’s concern about the Chinese government covertly using the app to collect vast amounts of sensitive data about millions of American users and potentially exploiting that information to blackmail young Americans or turn them into spies.”

During the arguments, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, “Just on the data collection, that seems like a huge concern for the future of the country.”

Chief Justice John Roberts asked at one point, “Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?”

TikTok is arguing that this is a First Amendment issue.

Marimow wrote, “While the justices acknowledged the serious free speech issues if the platform goes dark this month, several emphasized that foreign entities do not have First Amendment rights and that the site could continue to operate in a similar manner, but under different, non-Chinese ownership.”

If the Supreme Court rules against TikTok, ByteDance will have to sell TikTok to an approved buyer or digital stores such as Google and Apple would have to remove TikTok from their app stores. Users who already have TikTok will continue to have access to it, but will no longer be able to receive updates.

Normally, the Supreme Court can deliberate for months before handing down a decision, but because of the Jan. 19 deadline, a ruling could come down in the next few days. TikTok also wouldn’t mind if the ruling came after Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump has appeared sympathetic to TikTok since the election.

NBC News’ Kat Tenbarge wrote ([link removed]) , “One of Trump’s options would be to grant a 90-day extension for TikTok to continue its effort to find an American buyer — a provision specifically written into the law forcing a sale. However, TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance said it will not approve a sale of the app. If ByteDance were to approve a sale, there are U.S. buyers willing to purchase TikTok, including billionaire business executive Frank McCourt.”

Here’s more food for thought from The Washington Post’s Shira Ovide: “What if they ban TikTok and people keep using it anyway?” ([link removed])

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** The 2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes are now open!
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This contest recognizes the best of U.S. journalism from 2024. Enter your work ([link removed]) in categories that honor great writing, accountability, public service and justice reporting, innovation, diversity leadership, column and editorial writing, and First Amendment work. Deadline: Feb. 14.

Enter now ([link removed]) !


** Notable journalism about the Los Angeles wildfires
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* The Washington Post’s Brianna Sacks, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Imogen Piper and Aaron C. Davis with “What caused the Palisades blaze? Visual evidence points to a recent fire nearby.” ([link removed])
* The Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Rector with “‘This is your Hurricane Katrina’: Assessing the long road ahead for L.A.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Shawn Hubler and Soumya Karlamangla with “Before Taking Office, L.A.’s Mayor Said She Would Not Go Abroad.” ([link removed])
* “'A perfect storm': CNN's Nick Watt on how the Los Angeles fires got so bad.” ([link removed])
* CBS’s “60 Minutes” and correspondent Bill Whitaker with “Los Angeles County wildfires: The ongoing fight to stop the fires and the devastation of neighborhood.” ([link removed])
* The Wall Street Journal’s Scott Calvert and Joshua Chaffin with “Fighting Fires — and the Rumor Mill — as L.A. Burns.” ([link removed])
* NBC Dateline’s Keith Morrison with a video essay on TikTok ([link removed]) paying tribute to the spirit of Los Angeles.
* PolitiFact’s Jeff Cercone and Caleb McCullough with “Los Angeles fires fuel falsehoods, including by Trump about water management.” ([link removed])


** Jan 6 commentary
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Vice President-elect JD Vance appeared on “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend and said those who committed violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should not be pardoned.

But take it easy. Don’t think he is taking a different stance than Donald Trump and many on the right.

Vance told moderator Shannon Bream, “I think it’s very simple. Look, if you protested peacefully on Jan. 6, and you had Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned. And there’s a little bit of a gray area there.”

Vance, however, went out of his way to again address those he and many Republicans felt were treated unfairly, adding, “But we’re very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law, and there are a lot of people we think in the wake of Jan. 6 who were prosecuted unfairly. We need to rectify that.”

Even though Vance appeared to bend over backward during the Fox interview to sympathize with some Jan. 6 criminals, he took criticism on social media. Enough so that he responded on X ([link removed]) , “First of all, I donated to the J6 political prisoner fund and got ROASTED for it during my senate race. I've been defending these guys for years. Second, there were federal informants in the crowd. Do they get a pardon? I don't think so. The president saying he'll look at each case (and me saying the same) is not some walkback. I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial.”

Yeah, so it would appear Vance hasn’t strayed too far from the company stance at all.


** Chuck Todd’s future
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Semafor’s media newsletter reported ([link removed]) Sunday night that “Chuck Todd has quietly been meeting with Washington media organizations about his post NBC-future. The former host of ‘Meet The Press’ has told top editors and leaders from other media organizations that he plans to leave NBC when his contract is up this year, and has discussed potential roles outside the network both in broadcast and digital media.”


** Media tidbits
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* Craig Melvin takes over as co-host of the “Today” show today alongside Savannah Guthrie. Melvin takes over for Hoda Kotb, who stepped down to spend more time with her children.
* NPR’s David Folkenflik with “Fox News headed for trial, again, over 2020 election fraud claims.” ([link removed])
* The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch with “‘Why walk away?’ Al Michaels wants a 40th season calling NFL prime-time games.” ([link removed])
* Speaking of NFL broadcasters, CBS’s Jim Nantz announced his 500th NFL game on Sunday when he called the Buffalo Bills-Denver Broncos game.
* Awful Announcing’s Arthur Weinstein with “ESPN’s Holly Rowe offers to house people displaced by Los Angeles fires.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* CBS News’ Lesley Stahl has an extended interview with Jamie Dimon ([link removed]) , the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.
* ESPN’s Mark Fainaru-Wada with “HOF voters confront tough question: Should a Chiefs great who committed murder-suicide get in?” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Reinvigoration ([link removed]) for the unsung heroes of the TV newsroom. Apply by Jan. 24 ([link removed]) .
* Cover critical issues surrounding child protection and the foster care system. Apply by Feb. 14. ([link removed])
* Elevate your editing expertise with the Poynter ACES Advanced Certificate. Enroll now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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