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Rabat – US President-elect Donald Trump has filed a request with the US Supreme Court to delay the impending ban on TikTok, proposing a “political resolution” once he takes office. In a legal brief submitted on Friday, Trump’s legal team expressed opposition to the ban, urging the court to grant time for a political solution rather than judicial intervention.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on January 10 regarding a US law that requires ByteDance, TikTok‘s Chinese parent company, to sell the app to an American firm or face a ban by January 19—one day before Trump’s inauguration.
US officials have raised national security concerns, alleging that TikTok has ties to the Chinese government. Both TikTok and ByteDance have denied the accusations.
The move comes after a law passed by Congress in April and signed by President Joe Biden, which mandates either TikTok’s divestiture or a ban. Despite facing multiple legal challenges, TikTok and ByteDance have struggled to prevent the law’s progression, with the US Supreme Court previously rejecting an emergency injunction. However, the court agreed to hear their arguments on January 10, just days before the ban is due to take effect.
In his filing, Trump characterized the case as an unprecedented conflict between free speech rights and national security concerns. While he did not take a position on the merits of the case itself, Trump emphasized that delaying the deadline would provide him with the opportunity to address the matter through political channels rather than judicial means.
The US Department of Justice has expressed concerns about national security risks stemming from TikTok’s Chinese ownership, with several state governments also raising alarms about the app’s influence in the US.
In early December, a federal appeals court upheld the legislation, dismissing efforts to block it and labeling the law as the result of “extensive, bipartisan action by Congress and successive presidents.”
Despite his previous support for a TikTok ban during his first term, Trump has publicly opposed it this time around. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points,” he remarked at a December press conference, despite a majority of young voters backing his opponent, Kamala Harris. “Some say TikTok played a role in that,” he added.
