Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to suspend the potential TikTok ban until his administration can pursue a “political solution” to the issue.
The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed a counter-proposal with the court, in which the company argued that the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19, while the administration emphasized its position that the statute is necessary to a national security risk.
“President Trump is not taking a position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court “consider suspending the statute’s deadline of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, neither of which parties in the case and was written by D. John. Sauer, Trump’s pick for attorney general.
The argument presented to the court is the latest example of Trump meddling in national issues before taking office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiations with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for the rejection of a bipartisan plan and Republicans back to the negotiating table. .
He has been meeting with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida as he puts together his government, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app after trying to ban it during his first term over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by promoting content that was often macho and aimed at going viral.
He said earlier this year that he still believed there were national security risks with TikTok but was against banning it.
Friday’s filings come before oral arguments scheduled for January 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law was signed by President Joe Biden in April after passing Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance then initiated a legal battle.
Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges ruled on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously approved the statutecausing TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s letter says he opposes banning TikTok at this intersection and “seeks the opportunity to resolve the issues through political means once he comes into power.”
In their letter to the Supreme Court on Friday, attorneys for TikTok and parent company ByteDance argued that the federal appeals court erred in its ruling and based its decision on “perceived ‘risks’ that China could exert control” over the U.S. platform of TikTok by putting pressure on its platform. foreign branches.
The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk because of its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over information about TikTok’s U.S. customers or use the platform to spread or suppress information.
But the administration “admits that it has no evidence that China has ever attempted to do this,” TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that U.S. fears are based on future risks.
In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said that because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on the Chinese-developed and maintained decency engine,” its corporate structure poses risks.