Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay ahead of the impending TikTok ban, set to go into effect on Jan. 19, 2025 — a day before his inauguration.
In Friday’s filing, the president-elect questioned whether protecting Americans from the foreign adversary-controlled applications act violates their First Amendment rights. Trump’s amicus brief also stated that he wants to be given the chance to find a “political resolution” once he takes office as the Biden administration and parent company ByteDance continue to challenge one another over the app’s potential national security risks.
“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 Jan. 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” the brief noted. “President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
This echoed a previous move made by TikTok itself to get the Supreme Court to block the ban earlier this month. The court subsequently agreed to hear arguments.
If things do not change before Jan. 19 and ByteDance’s Chinese owners do not sell their American business assets, TikTok will indeed be banned in the United States. However, Trump’s filing also made it clear he is listening to his younger voters who utilize the social media service.
“President Trump also has a unique interest in the First Amendment issues raised in this case. Through his historic victory on Nov. 5, 2024, President Trump received a powerful electoral mandate from American voters to protect the free-speech rights of all Americans — including the 170 million Americans who
use TikTok,” John Sauer, Trump’s pick for Solicitor General, wrote. “President Trump is uniquely situated to vindicate these interests.”
It’s also worth noting that this update came after TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week.
