Donald Trump asks Supreme Court to pause potential TikTok ban

US President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the potential ban of video streaming platform TikTok from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

The request comes after TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court.

TikTok argued the court should strike down a law that could ban it by 19 January, while the government emphasised its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.

“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,” said Trump’s amicus brief.

The court filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for 10 January 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 it passed Congress with broad bipartisan support.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance filed a legal challenge afterwards.

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 statute, leading TikTok to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

In their brief to the Supreme Court on Friday, attorneys for TikTok argued the federal appeals court erred in its ruling and based its decision on “alleged ‘risks’ that China could exercise control” over TikTok’s US platform by pressuring its foreign affiliates.

The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to Beijing.

Officials allege Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok’s US patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information.

But the government “concedes that it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so,” TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that the US fears are predicated on future risks.

In its filing on Friday, the Biden administration said because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its propriety engine developed and maintained in China,” its corporate structure carries with it risk.

The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office.

The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating 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 a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.

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He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office 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 pushing content that is aimed at going viral.

He said earlier this year that he still believed there were national security risks with TikTok, but that he opposed banning it.

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