WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Donald Trump has called on the US Supreme Court to pause a federal law that would either ban the popular social media app TikTok or force its sale. Trump argues that he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance are fighting to keep the app online in the United States after Congress voted in April to ban it unless ByteDance sells the app by January 19. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, but if the court does not rule in ByteDance’s favor and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the US on January 19, one day before Trump takes office.
“This case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other,” Trump said in a filing on December 27. He added that a stay would grant him the opportunity to pursue a political resolution that could make the Court’s decision unnecessary.
Free speech advocates have also told the Supreme Court that the US law against Chinese-owned TikTok evokes censorship regimes similar to those of authoritarian enemies of the US. Trump indicated earlier this week that he favored allowing TikTok to keep operating in the US for at least a little while, noting that he had received billions of views on the platform during his presidential campaign.
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. TikTok, however, contends that the Justice Department has misstated its ties to China, arguing that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle, and that content moderation decisions affecting US users are made in the US as well.
The Supreme Court’s decision on this matter will have significant implications for the future of TikTok in the United States and the broader debate over national security and free speech.