Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that would force TikTok-owner ByteDance to sell the sh

Trump asks Supreme Court to pause imminent TikTok ban

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2024-12-28 18:30:07

Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that would force TikTok-owner ByteDance to sell the short-form video app or see it banned from the United States.

If the app isn’t sold, the ban is set to take effect in just a few weeks, on January 19. ByteDance is challenging the constitutionality of the law — officially titled the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear arguments on January 10.

In a new filing, Trump’s lawyers describe the ban-or-sell deadline, coming one day before his inauguration, as “unfortunate timing” that interferes with his “ability to manage the United States’ foreign policy.”

The filing does not specify what approach Trump might take to the issue, but it claims that he “alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government.”

The filing also notes that he currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, “allowing him to evaluate TikTok’s importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech.”