On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump submitted a request to the Supreme Court, asking for a delay on a potential TikTok ban until his administration has the opportunity to pursue a “political resolution” on the issue.
This request arrives as TikTok and the Biden administration present conflicting briefs to the court. TikTok is urging the court to strike down a law that could result in the app’s ban by January 19, while the government argues that this legislation is crucial for addressing national security concerns.
According to Trump’s amicus brief, “President Trump does not take a position on the fundamental issues at stake in this case. Rather, he respectfully requests the Court to consider postponing the divestment deadline of January 19, 2025, while it evaluates the merits of the case.” This brief, prepared by D. John Sauer, his appointed solicitor general, does not align with either party.
This legal maneuver showcases Trump’s ongoing involvement in national issues prior to officially taking office. The Republican president-elect has already begun talks with foreign nations regarding his tariff policies and has recently participated in discussions about federal government funding, pushing for bipartisan solutions instead of accepting existing proposals.
While forming his administration, Trump has been engaging with international leaders and business figures at his Mar-a-Lago estate, including a recent conversation with TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew.
Notably, Trump has altered his view on TikTok; he previously sought to ban the app during his first term over national security worries. However, during his 2024 presidential campaign, he embraced TikTok as a means to connect with younger voters, especially young men, by creating viral content.
Earlier this year, Trump acknowledged that he still perceives potential national security risks associated with TikTok but has expressed opposition to an outright ban on the platform.
The current legal proceedings are set against the backdrop of oral arguments scheduled for January 10, which will explore whether the law mandating TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company infringes upon the First Amendment by unlawfully limiting free speech. This law was established by President Joe Biden in April after gaining significant bipartisan support in Congress, prompting TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to challenge it legally.
Recently, 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 escalate its appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s brief indicates his current opposition to a ban on TikTok, suggesting that he prefers to tackle the issues through political dialogue once he is in office.
In their submission to the Supreme Court, attorneys for TikTok and ByteDance argued that the federal appeals court erred in its judgment, claiming the ruling relied on hypothetical risks related to potential Chinese influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations through foreign coercion.
The Biden administration contends that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China, asserting that Chinese authorities could pressure ByteDance to reveal information about American TikTok users or manipulate the platform to influence the dissemination of information.
However, TikTok’s legal brief highlights that the government acknowledges a lack of evidence for any past attempts by China to exert such control, emphasizing that U.S. concerns stem from speculative future risks.
In its filing on Friday, the Biden administration pointed out that TikTok’s operation in conjunction with ByteDance and its reliance on technology developed in China inherently pose risks due to its corporate structure.
