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President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause the implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, citing a need to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue after taking office.
The law, passed by Congress in April, would require TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban. The US Congress voted to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells the app by January 19.
TikTok, which has over 170 million US users, and its parent have sought to have the law struck down. However, if the court does not rule in their favor and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the US on January 19, one day before Trump takes office.
Trump’s support for TikTok is a reversal from 2020, when he tried to block the app in the US and force its sale to American companies because of its Chinese ownership. The move is seen as a significant effort by the company to forge inroads with Trump and his team during the presidential campaign.
President-elect Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, said that the president-elect takes no position on the underlying merits of the dispute and is instead seeking a stay of the law’s deadline for divestment, allowing his incoming administration to pursue a political resolution of the case.
Trump previously met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in December, after expressing a “warm spot” for the app and favoring allowing TikTok to keep operating in the US for at least a little while. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Free speech advocates have told the Supreme Court that the US law against TikTok evokes the censorship regimes put in place by the US’ authoritarian enemies, while the US Justice Department has argued that Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security, a position supported by most US lawmakers.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and a coalition of 22 attorneys general also filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold the national TikTok divest-or-ban legislation.
