South Korea Stocks Tumble as AI-Fueled Rally Faces Profit-Taking Pressure 
New Zealand Fast-Tracks Gold Mining as Industry Revival Gains Momentum 
Meta Pauses Employee Activity Tracking Program Over Data Security Concerns 
Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs as AI Reshapes Workforce and Cloud Expansion Accelerates 
Wall Street Ends Mixed as Alphabet Slumps, Middle East Developments and Fed Outlook Weigh on Markets 
Oil Prices Fall as Iran Peace Talks Progress, Hormuz Reopens, and U.S. SPR Hits 1983 Low 
SpaceX Stock Plunges 16% as KeyBanc Warns Valuation May Be Overstretched 
Wall Street Slides as AI Stocks Tumble Following South Korea Tech Sell-Off 
Russian Stocks End Flat as MOEX Index Hits New 52-Week Low 
Google Gemini Co-Lead Noam Shazeer Leaves for OpenAI Amid AI Talent Race 
Samsung Electronics Stock Surges on Report of Massive $59 Billion Share Buyback Plan 
SpaceX Stock Slides After IPO Rally as Valuation Concerns Grow 
SK Hynix Moves Closer to New York ADR Listing Amid AI Chip Boom 
US Raises Concerns Over Possible ASML EUV Machine Transfer to China 
World Cup technology: from ref cams to AI analysts, cutting-edge research is changing the game 
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance are turning to the Supreme Court as their last hope to block a U.S. law demanding divestment by Jan. 19. The outcome of this high-stakes showdown will impact millions of users and redefine the boundaries of tech regulation.
TikTok's Supreme Court Challenge Becomes Critical
According to Reuters. following the rejection of a plea for additional time by an appeals court on Friday (Dec 13), TikTok must expeditiously petition the Supreme Court to preempt or reverse a statute that would compel its Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the short-video app by January 19.
On Monday, TikTok and ByteDance petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, requesting an expedited hearing before presenting their case to the United States Supreme Court.
In a previous warning, the corporations stated that the law will "shut down TikTok - one of the nation's most popular speech platforms - for its more than 170 million domestic monthly users" unless they take legal action.
However, the court turned down the request, stating that TikTok and ByteDance hadn't shown any precedent "in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court," according to Friday's unanimous court judgement.
ByteDance Faces Divestment Mandate Amid National Security Concerns
By January 19th, ByteDance must sell TikTok or face legal consequences. Additionally, the bill grants the federal government broad authority to prohibit additional apps controlled by foreign entities that may cause Americans to worry about the gathering of their personal information.
That "continued Chinese control of the TikTok application poses a continuing threat to national security" is what the US Justice Department says.
According to TikTok, the social media app's ties to China have been exaggerated by the Justice Department, CNA shares. The company claims that the content recommendation engine and user data are really housed in the US on Oracle's cloud servers, and that decisions regarding content moderation that impact US users are made in the US as well.
Political Decisions and Supreme Court to Determine TikTok’s Future
Unless the Supreme Court overturns the ruling, the fate of TikTok will be decided by Democratic President Joe Biden, who must decide whether to extend the deadline for forcing a sale by 90 days, and then by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who assumes office on January 20.
Before the November presidential election, Trump stated that he would not permit the ban on TikTok, despite his failed attempt to do so during his first term in 2020.
Tech Giants Urged to Prepare for TikTok’s Removal
The head of a US House committee on China warned Apple and Google's parent company Alphabet that they need to be prepared to delete TikTok from their US app stores on January 19th, according to a report from Friday.
