Trump Seeks Supreme Court Delay of TikTok Ban, Citing Hope for Political Resolution

President-elect Donald Trump has petitioned the US Supreme Court to delay an impending TikTok ban, citing his intention to seek a “political resolution” to the dispute upon taking office.

In a legal brief filed on Friday, Trump’s lawyer argued that the president-elect “opposes banning TikTok” and wishes to resolve the issue “through political means.”

The court is scheduled to hear arguments on 10 January regarding a US law mandating TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American company or face a nationwide ban set to take effect on 19 January, a day before Trump’s inauguration.

The law stems from allegations by US officials and lawmakers that TikTok and ByteDance maintain ties to the Chinese government, accusations the companies vehemently deny. TikTok has over 170 million users in the US.

Congress passed the divest-or-ban law in April, which President Joe Biden signed into law, citing national security concerns. ByteDance and TikTok have filed multiple legal challenges, arguing the legislation infringes on American free speech protections, but these efforts have seen little success.

In his filing, Trump described the case as presenting “an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other.” While he did not take a position on the case’s merits, he urged the court to push back the deadline, allowing his administration time to negotiate a political solution.

The US Justice Department and nearly two dozen state attorneys general, led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen, support the law, citing national security risks allegedly linked to TikTok’s Chinese ownership.

A federal appeals court recently upheld the legislation, describing it as “the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and successive presidents.”

Despite supporting a TikTok ban during his first term, Trump has now publicly opposed the measure. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,” he stated earlier this month, although official data shows most young voters supported his opponent, Kamala Harris.

The Supreme Court’s decision on 10 January could determine TikTok’s fate just days before the ban is scheduled to take effect.

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