Trump asks the Supreme Court to stop the impending TikTok ban
Lawyers representing President-elect Donald Trump have asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt a law that would force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the short-form video app or see it banned in the United States.
If the app does not sell, the ban is scheduled to take effect in a few weeks, on January 19. ByteDance is challenging the constitutionality of the law — officially named the Protecting Americans from Foreign Controlled Apps Act — before the Supreme Court Arguments are scheduled to be heard on January 10.
in New depositTrump’s lawyers describe the ban or sale deadline, which comes a day before his inauguration, as “unfortunate timing” that interferes with his “ability to conduct the foreign policy of the United States.”
The filing does not specify what approach Trump might take on the issue, but claims that he “alone has the savvy deal-making experience, electoral mandate, and political will to negotiate a solution to save the program while addressing the national security concerns that have been expressed.” By the government.”
The filing also notes that he currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, “allowing him to assess the importance of TikTok as a unique vehicle for free expression, including basic political speech.”
Supporters of the law claimed that TikTok poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could use it to collect data and push propaganda to American viewers. While Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term as president, he did so He expressed his support for the application Recently. During his presidential campaign, he posted on Truth Social, “For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump!”
Several civil liberties and free speech groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier, have done so. They submitted their own brief supports TikTok’s appeal and argues that “the government has not provided credible evidence of ongoing or imminent harm caused by TikTok.”
