By Kanishka Singh and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump has urged the U.S. Supreme Courtroom to pause implementation of a legislation that may ban widespread social media app TikTok or drive its sale, arguing he ought to have time after taking workplace to pursue a “political resolution” to the problem.
The court docket is ready to listen to arguments within the case on Jan. 10.
The legislation would require TikTok’s Chinese language proprietor, ByteDance, to promote the platform to an American firm or face a ban. The U.S. Congress voted in April to ban it except ByteDance sells the app by Jan. 19.
TikTok, which has over 170 million U.S. customers, and its mother or father have sought to have the legislation struck down. But when the court docket doesn’t rule of their favor and no divestment happens, the app might be successfully banned in the US on Jan. 19, someday earlier than Trump takes workplace.
Trump’s help for TikTok is a reversal from 2020, when he tried to dam the app in the US and drive its sale to American corporations due to its Chinese language possession.
It additionally reveals the numerous effort by the corporate to forge inroads with Trump and his group through the presidential marketing campaign.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” mentioned D. John Sauer, Trump’s lawyer who can be the president-elect’s choose for U.S. solicitor normal.
“Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” he added.
Trump beforehand met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in December, hours after the president-elect expressed he had a “warm spot” for the app and that he favored permitting TikTok to maintain working in the US for a minimum of a short while.
The president-elect additionally mentioned he had obtained billions of views on the social media platform throughout his presidential marketing campaign.
TikTok didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The corporate has beforehand mentioned the Justice Division has misstated its ties to China, arguing its content material advice engine and consumer information are saved in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp (NYSE:) whereas content material moderation choices that have an effect on U.S. customers are made in the US as effectively.
Free speech advocates individually instructed the Supreme Courtroom on Friday the U.S. legislation in opposition to TikTok evokes the censorship regimes put in place by the US’ authoritarian enemies.
The U.S. Justice Division has argued Chinese language management of TikTok poses a unbroken risk to nationwide safety, a place supported by most U.S. lawmakers.
Montana Lawyer Basic Austin Knudsen led a coalition of twenty-two attorneys normal on Friday in submitting an amicus temporary asking the Supreme Courtroom to uphold the nationwide TikTok divest-or-ban laws.