The TikTok case before the Supreme Court pits national security against free speech
When the Supreme Court considers arguments on Friday on whether protecting national security requires selling or shutting down TikTok, the justices will be working in the shadow of three First Amendment precedents, all influenced by the climate of their times and how much the justices they trusted the government.During the Cold War and Vietnam era, the court refused to give credence to government claims that national security required limiting what newspapers could publish and what Americans could read. More recently, however, the Court has deferred to Congress' judgment that the fight against terrorism justifies making certain types of speech a crime.The court will most likely act quickly, as TikTok faces a January 19 deadline under a law enacted in April by bipartisan majorities. The bil...