President-elect Donald Trump has made a surprising appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a delay in the enforcement of a law that would either ban the popular social media app TikTok or compel its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell it to an American firm.
The law, passed by Congress in April, mandates that ByteDance divest from TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face a complete ban in the United States. If no action is taken by the deadline and the court does not intervene, the app, which boasts over 170 million users in the U.S., could cease operations in the country just one day before Trump assumes office.
This move represents a dramatic departure from Trump’s earlier position. Back in 2020, during his first presidential term, Trump sought to ban TikTok, citing concerns over its Chinese ownership and potential risks to national security.
At the time, his administration pressed for the app’s sale to American companies, framing the issue as a matter of protecting user data from potential misuse by Beijing. However, Trump’s latest actions suggest a more conciliatory approach as he prepares to re-enter the White House.
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In his plea to the Supreme Court, Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, who has also been nominated as the incoming U.S. solicitor general, urged the court to pause the January deadline. Sauer argued that the president-elect should have the opportunity to explore a political resolution to the issue once in office.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” Sauer noted in his filing. “Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment…thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue.”
This request comes on the heels of a December meeting between Trump and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Trump reportedly expressed a newfound warm spot for the platform, even going so far as to praise its role during his presidential campaign.
The app, known for its viral trends and political discourse, helped Trump garner billions of views, which he acknowledged as a significant factor in his outreach to younger voters.
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TikTok and ByteDance have consistently pushed back against allegations of security threats. The company has emphasized that its user data is stored in the United States on servers operated by Oracle and that content moderation decisions affecting U.S. users are made domestically.
TikTok has also accused the Justice Department of misrepresenting its ties to China, maintaining that it operates independently and does not pose the national security risks alleged by lawmakers.
Despite these assurances, the app has faced mounting scrutiny from U.S. officials. The Justice Department, supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, argues that TikTok’s Chinese ownership leaves it vulnerable to influence from the Chinese government. These concerns echo broader tensions between the U.S. and China over technology, trade, and national security.
The debate over TikTok’s future in the United States has also sparked concerns from free speech advocates. On Friday, a coalition of civil liberties groups filed a brief with the Supreme Court, likening the proposed ban to the kind of censorship employed by authoritarian regimes. They warned that restricting access to a widely-used social media platform could set a dangerous precedent for free expression in the U.S.
“Banning TikTok outright is not just an attack on a single company but a blow to the principles of free speech that define American democracy,” one advocate noted.
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