Trump Presses Supreme Court to Postpone TikTok’s Fate in the U.S.

US President-elect Donald Trump has requested the US Supreme Court to postpone an impending TikTok prohibition while he seeks a “political resolution”.

On Friday, his attorney submitted a legal document to the court stating that Trump “is against banning TikTok” and “desires the chance to settle the issues at play via political methods once he assumes office”.

The court is set to hear arguments on January 10 regarding a US statute that mandates TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to divest the social media platform to a US corporation or face a ban effective January 19 – a day before Trump takes office.

US authorities and representatives have accused ByteDance of having connections to the Chinese state – a claim the company denies.

These accusations concerning an app that boasts 170 million users in the US prompted Congress to pass a bill in April, which President Joe Biden enacted, that included the requirement to divest or face a ban.

TikTok and ByteDance have lodged numerous legal challenges against the statute, contending that it undermines American free speech protections, with minimal success. As no prospective buyer has emerged thus far, the companies’ last opportunity to obstruct the ban lies with the American Supreme Court.

Although the Supreme Court has previously declined to respond to a plea for an emergency injunction against the law, it has decided to allow TikTok, ByteDance, and the US government to present their arguments on January 10 – just before the ban is slated to be enacted.

Trump recently met with TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last week.

In his court submission on Friday, Trump stated that the case poses “an unprecedented, novel, and complex conflict between free-speech rights on one end, and foreign policy and national security issues on the other”.

While the submission indicated that Trump “does not take a stance on the fundamental merits of this conflict”, it noted that postponing the January 19 deadline would provide Trump “the opportunity to seek a political resolution” to the issue without resorting to legal means.

The US Department of Justice has asserted that alleged connections of TikTok to China pose a national security risk – and numerous state administrations have expressed concerns regarding the widely-used social media application.

Nearly twenty state attorneys general, led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen, have urged the Supreme Court to uphold the statute that requires ByteDance and TikTok to divest or face prohibition.

Earlier in December, a federal appellate court dismissed an attempt to overturn the legislation, asserting it was “the result of comprehensive, bipartisan efforts by Congress and successive presidents.”

Trump has openly expressed his opposition to the ban, despite advocating for one during his initial term as president.

“I hold a special regard for TikTok, because I secured youth support by 34 points,” he stated during a press event earlier in December, although a majority of young voters favored his opponent, Kamala Harris.

“Some claim TikTok has something to do with that,” he added.