Document Type
Student Paper
Publication Date
Spring 2026
Recommended Citation
Sharp, Olivia, "Judicial Underreach: TikTok Inc. v. Garland's Implications for National Security and Free Speech" (2026). Colorado Law Student Scholars. 9.
https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/colorado-law-student-scholars/9
COinS
Comments
This paper argues that the Supreme Court’s decision in TikTok Inc. v. Garland overlooked a critical opportunity to develop a robust First Amendment framework for evaluating national security threats in the context of modern digital speech. Although the Court upheld the TikTok bill under intermediate scrutiny and framed the legislation as a content-neutral regulation of foreign corporate ownership, it failed to meaningfully engage with the more profound and more complex national security concerns raised by continued foreign control over a central expressive platform. In doing so, the Court not only narrowed its conception of the government’s interest but also left the First Amendment doctrine vulnerable to future erosion, allowing significant burdens on speech infrastructure to escape strict judicial scrutiny.
[Originally published in the Richmond Journal of Law & Technology]