By Kanishka Singh

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Pause TikTok Ban

Date: WASHINGTON (Reuters)
Donald Trump has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a federal TikTok law that would ban the popular social media app or force its sale. The Republican U.S. President-elect argues that he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.

TikTok and its owner ByteDance are fighting to keep the app online in the U.S. after Congress voted in April to ban it unless the app's Chinese parent company sells it by Jan. 19.

They have sought to have the law struck down, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. However, if the court does not rule in ByteDance's favor and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the United States on Jan. 19, just one day before Trump takes office.

Trump's filing states, "This case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other." It adds that a stay would give President Trump the opportunity to seek a political resolution that could eliminate the need for the Court's decision on these significant constitutional questions.

Free speech advocates informed the Supreme Court that the U.S. law against Chinese-owned TikTok resembles the censorship regimes imposed by the United States' authoritarian enemies.

Earlier this week, Trump indicated he favored allowing TikTok to operate in the U.S. for a period, noting the billions of views he received on the platform during his presidential campaign.

The U.S. Justice Department has stated that Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security, a stance supported by most U.S. lawmakers. TikTok, however, contends that the Justice Department has misrepresented the app's ties to China, claiming that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the U.S. on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp, with content moderation decisions for U.S. users made domestically as well.