President-elect Donald Trump has called on the US Supreme Court to halt the enforcement of a law that may lead to a ban on the widely-used social media app TikTok or necessitate its sale. He contends that he should be afforded time after taking office to seek a “political resolution” regarding the matter.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on January 10.
This legislation mandates that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, sell the app to an American firm or face prohibition within the United States. In April, Congress voted to impose a ban unless a sale is finalized by January 19.
With over 170 million users in the US, TikTok and ByteDance have been working to overturn this law. If the court does not rule in their favor and ByteDance fails to divest, the app could potentially be banned just one day before Trump assumes the presidency.
Trump’s recent support for TikTok marks a notable shift from his stance in 2020, when he sought to restrict the app’s operations and compel its sale to American companies due to concerns over its Chinese ownership.
This change also highlights TikTok’s efforts to build rapport with Trump and his campaign during his run for president.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” stated D. John Sauer, who serves as Trump’s attorney and has been nominated to be the US solicitor general.
“Rather, he respectfully asks the Court to consider delaying the Act’s divestment deadline of January 19, 2025, while it deliberates on this case, allowing the incoming administration the chance to pursue a political resolution of the issues involved,” he continued.
In December, Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew shortly after expressing his favorable view of the app, indicating he preferred that TikTok continue to operate in the US for the time being.
During his campaign, Trump mentioned he garnered billions of views on TikTok.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment immediately.
The company has previously asserted that the Justice Department has misrepresented its connections to China, stating that its content recommendation algorithms and user data are securely stored in the United States on cloud servers run by Oracle Corp. Additionally, decisions regarding content moderation for US users are made domestically.
In a separate development, advocates for free speech informed the Supreme Court on Friday that the US law targeting TikTok resembles censorship measures employed by authoritarian regimes, which the US has historically opposed.
The US Justice Department has maintained that Chinese oversight of TikTok constitutes an ongoing national security threat, a viewpoint that is widely backed by Congress.
On Friday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a group of 22 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the legislation requiring TikTok to divest or face a ban.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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