President-elect of the United States Donald Trump asked the United States Supreme Court on Friday to stay the possible TikTok the ban to go into effect until his administration can seek a “political resolution” to the problem.
The request comes as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs in court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19, while the government stressed his position that law is necessary to eliminate. a risk to national security.
“President Trump takes no position on the merits of this dispute. Instead, it respectfully requests that the Court consider suspending the statute’s divestment deadline of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” the amicus brief states. Trump, which did not support either side in the case and was written by D. John. Sauer, Trump’s choice for solicitor general.
The argument before the court is the latest example of Trump’s intervention in domestic issues before taking office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plan to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a federal government funding plan, calling for the rejection of a bipartisan plan and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table. .
He has held meetings with foreign leaders and business representatives at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida as he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew .
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Trump reversed his stance on the popular app, after trying to ban it during his first term on national security grounds. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign, and his team used it to connect with young voters, particularly male voters, by spreading content that was often macho and aimed at going viral.
He said earlier this year that he still believed TikTok posed national security risks, but opposed banning it.
The documents filed Friday come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, illegally restricts free speech in violation of the first amendment. The law was signed by President Joe Biden in April after passing Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance later filed a lawsuit.
Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the law, leading TikTok to appeal the case before the Supreme Court.
Trump’s brief says he opposes banning TikTok at this point and “seeks the ability to address the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
In their brief filed Friday before the Supreme Court, lawyers for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued that the federal appeals court erred in its decision and based its decision on alleged “risks” that China could exercise control” over the American platform of TikTok by putting pressure on its managers. foreign subsidiaries.
The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk because of its ties to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can force ByteDance to provide information about TikTok’s U.S. customers or use the platform to disseminate or remove information.
But the government “admits that it has no evidence that China ever attempted to do so,” TikTok’s legal filing says, adding that the U.S. fears are based on future risks.
In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said that because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its proprietary engine developed and maintained in China,” its corporate structure carries risks.
© 2024 The Canadian Press