Biden team urges Trump administration to keep continuity in Indo-Pacific 
National security adviser Jake Sullivan says alliances are key amid broader alignment among adversaries: Russia, China, North Korea
Patsy Widakuswara
US intelligence mostly rejects links between ‘Havana Syndrome,’ adversaries
An updated assessment calls foreign involvement in the ailments to U.S. personnel ‘very unlikely,’ although two agencies refuse to rule it out
Jeff Seldin
Preventive action can’t avert wildfires but can save lives, meteorologists say
'People have been evacuated. It has been impossible to save houses, and the loss of life is still too high, but it has been kept to a relative minimum,' a spokesperson says
Lisa Schlein
Jimmy Carter’s post-presidential legacy
Though he once held the most powerful position in the world, Jimmy Carter may be better remembered for his work after leaving office
Alex Gendler
Russia 'observing' Greenland situation; Europe cautious on Trump remarks 
Denmark warns Trump that Greenland is not for sale, seeks cooperation on Arctic security
Henry Ridgwell
Clock ticking on US TikTok ban
Supreme Court hearing arguments Friday on ban appeal
Steve Herman
US mourns as it pays tribute to former President Jimmy Carter
Biden says Carter led ‘a good life of purpose and meaning, of character’
Ken Bredemeier, Anita Powell
US to pledge $500M for Ukraine at Ramstein meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he will join the meeting of the group, which comprises about 50 nations
Carla Babb
Former President Jimmy Carter lies in state at US Capitol
Carter lies in state for public viewing in the heart of American democracy, as leaders prepare for national funeral
Anita Powell
Taliban refute Trump’s claims on US financial aid to Afghanistan
The deputy Taliban spokesperson said the Kabul administration neither anticipates nor seeks any assistance from the United States
Ayaz Gul
European Union rebuffs Trump's designs on Greenland takeover
‘Wild hypothetical stuff,’ EU says
Ken Bredemeier
Meta to offer wider range of speech on platforms, CEO says
Mark Zuckerberg says his firm will do away with fact-checkers and rely on community monitoring of posts instead, among other changes
Michelle Quinn

Clock ticking on US TikTok ban

Steve Herman

A look at some of the most popular short videos on the TikTok social media platform may prompt head-scratching about what the fuss is.

There is Charli D’Amelio (nearly 156 million followers) from the state of Connecticut, dancing in an 11-second clip to a remix of a Chris Brown song.

There is a smiling baby having her cheeks squeezed (400 million views).

And a video clip has racked up 2.3 billion views of California illusionist Zach King riding a “magic broomstick.”

Any day now, the billions of comedy skits, dance challenges, life hacks, and cute pets and babies on TikTok could become invisible in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court has fast-tracked oral arguments on a challenge by the Chinese company ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to a new U.S. law that would ban the social media platform on grounds of national security.

While TikTok, the most popular social media platform in the United States, has become a part of American culture, its Chinese ownership has alarmed government officials and lawmakers. Beijing’s potential access to all that personal data and the ability to shape public opinion for its American users prompted Congress to ban it, with a 352-65 bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives last March.

That happened despite TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s appeal to American users to fight the legislation.

“Protect your constitutional rights. Make your voices heard,” Chew, a Singaporean with a Harvard MBA, said in a TikTok video prior to the congressional action.

TikTok has repeatedly stated it has ensured the data of its American users is protected from outside influence and manipulation.

Parent company ByteDance has more than 150,000 employees globally, including U.S. offices in Austin, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.

Barring a reprieve by the Supreme Court, ByteDance will lose access to its largest market on Jan. 19.

“Assuming the Supreme Court upholds the law — unless the Trump administration can find some workaround, which I’m doubtful they’ll be able to — the choice is either sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States,” Alan Rozenshtein, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law, told VOA.

Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump had backed the ban. But Trump expressed a recent change of heart after his campaign videos during last year’s election performed well on the platform.

“They brought me a chart, and it was a record. It was so beautiful to see. And as I looked at it, I said, ‘Maybe we got to keep this sucker around for a little while,’” Trump said during an appearance in Phoenix in December.

The Supreme Court will listen to the social media company’s appeal on Friday.

The justices will weigh the national security argument against the constitutional guarantee of free speech for ByteDance’s American subsidiary and its estimated 170 million users in the United States.

“That’s one dimension of the conflict. But in another sense, it’s also a fight within free speech itself, because one thing the government is arguing is that one of the dangers of having Chinese ownership of TikTok is that the Chinese government would be able to manipulate the algorithm and therefore distort the speech environment itself,” explained Rozenshtein, who is also a senior editor at Lawfare, an online site that analyzes complicated legal and policy issues related to U.S. national security.

Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary said he has informed Trump that he’s nearing a deal to buy the U.S. assets of TikTok that would save it from being banned.

“I wanted to let him know, as well as others in his Cabinet, that we’re doing this, and we’re going to need their help,” O’Leary, best known as one of the hosts of the reality TV program Shark Tank, told Fox News.

Trump has asked the Supreme Court to put the case on hold so he can negotiate a sale of the platform following his second inauguration on Jan. 20 —- the day after the ban is set to go into effect.

In the meantime, another sharing app owned by ByteDance — Lemon8 — is sponsoring posts on TikTok encouraging users to migrate there.