Comment by insane_dreamer
19 hours ago
> Textualism might give the court some useful definitions, but it is after all still called, quite literally, an opinion.
I don't think you understand SCOTUS' decision here. They are not banning TikTok. Congress is doing so (actually forcing a sale of TikTok or be banned). They are simply ruling whether Congress acted unconstitutionally by doing so. In other words, if they overrule Congress, they would have to show how Congress' ruling contravenes the Constitution, when the Constitution grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce and decide matters of national security.
Congress isn't banning TikTok either. The law says US businesses can't work with TikTok. TokTok is choosing to shut down to try and force the issue politically. TikTok can choose stay running, the app will still be on your phone, no IP addresses are being blocked. The laws impact comes from choking off revenue and marketing (access to app stores).
You're right, though it's effectively a ban on the iPhone because the only way to get apps is through the Apple Store; but yes, it's not like the app itself will stop working, or there will be some IP block, by order of Congress.
Could TikTok work through a browser? I can get to Facebook and YouTube through my iPhone Safari browser. Indeed I buy Kindle ebooks through the iPhone Safari because the Kindle and Amazon apps won't let me make purchases.
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"We're not banning your business, we're just cutting the water and power and changing the locks oh and also we burned down the entire building and salted the earth so nothing will ever grow again."