President-elect Donald Trump is calling on the Supreme Court to delay the deadline for TikTok’s owner to have to sell the company or else face a ban in the United States.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments from TikTok’s attorneys opposing the ban on Jan. 10, but Trump’s nominee for solicitor general, John Sauer, suggested that the ban on Jan. 19, a day before Trump’s inauguration, be pushed back so that Trump can have input in the issue.
“President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns,” wrote Sauer.
Bipartisan lawmakers and citizens have held national security concerns for years over TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, fearing the app’s popularity and the company’s ability to collect user data. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden this April.
However, supporters of TikTok and the company itself have argued its ban is an infringement on First Amendment rights. ByteDance, the parent company, has also denied that it poses a security threat to the U.S.
Sauer added that “in light of these interests—including, most importantly, his overarching responsibility for the United States’ national security and foreign policy—President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
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While threatening to ban TikTok in the past, Trump has taken a much more welcoming approach this year. He has more than 14.7 million followers on the app.
Trump has offered very few details about how he plans to protect the app and how to ensure national security concerns are put to bed.