President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to halt a potential TikTok ban until his administration can find a “political solution” to the issue.
The request comes as TikTok and the Biden administration file rival briefs with the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 and the administration emphasized its position , that is, the regulation is needed to eliminate national security risks.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying issues in this dispute. Instead, he respectfully asks the Court to consider delaying the January 19, 2025 divestment deadline under the Act while considering the merits of this case.
The arguments presented to the court are the latest example of Trump wading into national issues before taking office. The Republican president-elect has begun talks with other countries over plans to impose tariffs, and earlier this month he intervened in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for the bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans to Return to the negotiating table.
As he forms the government, he has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, including last week with the CEO of TikTok Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his stance on the popular app, which he had tried to ban over national security concerns during his first term. He joined TikTok during the 2024 presidential campaign, and his team used TikTok to connect with young voters, especially male voters, pushing content that was often macho and designed to go viral.
He said earlier this year that he still believed TikTok posed a national security risk but opposed banning it.
Friday’s filing comes ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law that calls for TikTok to divest itself from its Chinese parent company or face a ban unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment . The bill passed Congress with broad bipartisan support and was signed by President Joe Biden in April. TikTok and ByteDance subsequently launched legal challenges.
Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the regulation, prompting TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
Trump said in the briefing that he opposed banning TikTok at this time and “seeks the ability to solve current problems through political means after taking office.”
Lawyers for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued in a brief to the Supreme Court on Friday that a federal appeals court erred in ruling based on “the alleged ‘risk’ that China could The US platform puts pressure on it to control it.” Foreign Affiliates.
The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk because of its ties to China. Officials said 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 TikTok’s legal filing said the government “acknowledges that there is no evidence that China has attempted to do so,” adding that U.S. concerns are based on future risks.
The Biden administration said in Friday’s filing that there are risks to TikTok’s corporate structure due to its “integration with ByteDance and reliance on its proprietary engine developed and maintained in China.”
This story was originally published on Associated Press.
