Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban, will seek ‘political resolution’ upon taking office News
Solen Feyissa, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban, will seek ‘political resolution’ upon taking office

President-elect Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Friday to halt a potential TikTok ban, aiming to delay its enforcement while his administration works toward finding a “political resolution” to the controversy.

The amicus brief penned by D. John Sauer, Trump’s pick for solicitor general, says: “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case.” Trump’s brief stated that he opposes banning TikTok at this point, emphasizing that he “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”

Trump’s request comes amid a showdown between TikTok and the Biden administration. TikTok challenged a law that could erase the app from American screens by January 19, while the government championed the statute as a vital safeguard against a looming national security threat.

Friday’s filings precede oral arguments set for January 10, where the court will address whether the law requiring TikTok to separate from its China-based parent company or face a ban violates the First Amendment by unlawfully restricting free speech. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April after receiving strong bipartisan support in Congress, prompted TikTok and owner ByteDance to file a legal challenge.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance pushed back against a recent federal appeals court ruling upholding the law, arguing that the decision was flawed and relied on speculative “alleged ‘risks’ that China could exercise control” over TikTok’s US platform through pressure on its foreign affiliates.

The Biden administration argued that even though it has no concrete evidence that China has attempted to compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok’s US patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information, TikTok’s corporate structure inherently carries risk since it “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its proprietary engine developed and maintained in China.”

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