TikTok's Kidnapping Trap on Dating App, Five College Students Accused – TikTok Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
As part of TikTok's "Catch a Predator" trend, five Massachusetts college students appeared in court on Thursday, accused of luring a man to campus through a dating app with the intention of trapping him.
TikTok's Kidnapping Trap on Dating App, Five College Students Accused – TikTok Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
TikTok's Kidnapping Trap on Dating App, Five College Students Accused – TikTok Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
As part of TikTok's "Catch a Predator" trend, five Massachusetts college students appeared in court on Thursday, accused of luring a man to campus through a dating app with the intention of trapping him.
The students from Assumption University, all teenagers, face charges of conspiracy and kidnapping. They pleaded not guilty in court and were ordered to appear again for a pre-trial conference on March 28 in Worcester District Court.
The accused are Kelsey Brainard (18), Easton Randall (19), Kevin Carroll (18), Isabella Trudeau (18), and Joaquin Smith (18). They stood silently in court, communicating only through their attorneys. A sixth accused is appearing separately in juvenile court.
On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided on Friday to uphold a law banning TikTok. The ruling stated that the Chinese-owned app poses a national security risk that outweighs the free speech rights of its 170 million U.S. users.
Under the ban, set to take effect Sunday, TikTok must divest from its China-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd., or new users will be unable to download the app or receive updates. Existing users, however, will not see the app disappear immediately but will find it obsolete over time, according to the Justice Department.
This decision comes at a time when President-elect Donald Trump has promised to negotiate on the issue. Outgoing President Joe Biden's administration has shown reluctance to enforce the law. Trump has opposed the ban, citing TikTok's popularity and his 14.7 million followers. Meanwhile, Republican senators have blamed TikTok's Chinese owner for failing to find a buyer in time.
The law, passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in April, allows for a 90-day suspension of the ban if steps are taken to sell TikTok. However, the prospects for a sale remain uncertain.
