The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against TikTok on Friday, effectively banning the social network in the country starting Sunday, January 19. The New York Times reported that this decision was unanimous, 9-0.
The decision means that U.S. operations for the popular app must shut down this weekend to comply with a 2024 law that President Biden signed that forced the Chinese-based network from operating in the States.
The Court notes: “Congress has determined that divestiture (of TikTok) is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Last year, the Court heard from a TikTok lawyer who explained why the government shouldn’t be allowed to shut down the service. At the time, it seemed like most justices felt compelled to side with the government. A unanimous decision was unexpected.
Previously, NBC News reported that President Biden was exploring ways to keep TikTok online despite the ban, or at least delay the closure. Administration officials said that “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday. With the Supreme Court’s decision, the ball is firmly in Biden’s hands. The law allows the president to enact a 90-day extension of the ban’s deadline.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA – 2024) grants the President of the United States the authority to ban applications that pose national security risks, specifically targeting TikTok. When this law was signed last spring, it received broad bipartisan support. However, since then, some have questioned the law and are exploring ways to delay or save TikTok in the U.S.
One potential solution to circumvent the ban would be for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the company to an American entity. So far, no deal has been reached to facilitate this.
If Biden were to prevent the ban from taking effect on Sunday, it would then fall to President-elect Donald J. Trump, who takes office on Monday, to decide how to proceed. Trump has indicated a willingness to halt the ban in order to review all potential options.
Without an extension or sale, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. There are some potential ways around this, such as using a VPN to bypass the TikTok ban, and several TikTok alternatives have already sprung up, the most popular of which is RedNote.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.