The Scoop: Supreme Court decision seems to spell the end of TikTok

Also: Community Notes won’t be on Meta ads; Washington Post’s new motto promises to engage more ‘blue collar’ audience.

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law banning TikTok, effective Sunday, unless its China-based parent company sells it. 

 

 

The court ruled that the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China outweighs concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million U.S. users, according to the Associated Press.

Sources told Reuters that TikTok plans to end U.S. operations of the app once the ban takes effect, barring a last-minute reprieve.

Why it matters: We’ve known it was coming for about a year. Now, it’s finally here.

It should be noted that President-elect Donald Trump has voiced his support for trying to “save” the app, though it’s not clear how. TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew will be at the inauguration next week along with other social media and tech power players.

But , it’s likely the app will close — and it’s time to move forward with your contingency plan. 

It’s important to take note of new and emerging platforms, especially the Chinese players like RedNote and Lemon8. However, as Greg Swan from FINN Partners cautioned earlier this week, it wouldn’t be wise to make a reactionary “flight to other networks.” See more advice on what comes next in short-form video. 

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

Editor’s Top Reads

  • Apple has paused its AI-powered news summary notifications after repeatedly sending users error-filled or entirely false headlines. On Wednesday, users reported receiving a notification from the Washington Post that stated “Pete Hegseth fired; Trump tariffs impact inflation; Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio confirmed,” which are all untrue. Apple said it would not only suspend the alerts, but also add a warning for users who opt in that the feature is still in development and the content it creates may contain factual errors. This warning will let users know that the feature is still in development and may produce content with errors. “With the latest beta software releases of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Notification summaries for the News & Entertainment category will be temporarily unavailable,” an Apple spokesperson said. While it’s a positive step that Apple is making changes, they’ve yet to really address these problems in a meaningful, public-facing way. The BBC noted that it took several weeks for Apple to respond to its concerns about errant AI alerts, including one about Luigi Mangione having shot himself. If you’re going to put a product on the market – any product, you have to be willing to stand behind it and take ownership for what it does, the good and the bad. 
  • Mark Zuckerberg is working to assure advertisers that its upcoming user-moderated Community Notes feature won’t be available on paid ads, according to the Wall Street Journal. Community Notes on Meta platforms will focus on organic content, including influencers’ sponsored posts that haven’t been paid to boost by Meta and organic brand posts. This seems to indicate that spreading misinformation could be as easy as paying to sponsor a post – a major loophole that rival X avoids by allowing Community Notes on all content, including ads. It also opens organic brand posts to the risk of being fact checked by unvetted people who may have their own agendas – and their own version of the truth. The brand risks are myriad and easy to see. Currently, the biggest means of protection seems to be giving Meta money. Are you ready to go that route?
  • The Washington Post has unveiled a new mission statement, “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.” The publication is making a shift from “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” which it adopted during Trump’s first presidency. The new motto sends a message that Jeff Bezos and the publication are making a shift from a government watchdog to something more attractive to a wider and likely more conservative audience. Once dubbed a “woke billionaire,” Bezos has sought to cozy up with Trump and the GOP recently. The New York Times reported that Bezos’ wants the Post to work to attract more “blue-collar Americans who live outside coastal cities, mentioning people like firefighters in Cleveland.” It plans to do so by increasing opinion content and making a more defined distinction between its news and opinion content.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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