Trump urges Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban

Trump's filing argues that the delay would give him the chance to pursue a political resolution.

Around 59 percent of US adults under 30 years of age use the app and 63 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 also use it. / Photo: AP
AP

Around 59 percent of US adults under 30 years of age use the app and 63 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 also use it. / Photo: AP

US President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause a federal TikTok law that would ban the popular social media app or force its sale, with the Republican incoming president arguing that he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.

"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," Trump said in a filing on Friday.

"Such a stay would vitally grant President Trump the opportunity to pursue a political resolution that could obviate the Court's need to decide these constitutionally significant questions," the filing added.

Free speech advocates separately told the Supreme Court on Friday that the US law against Chinese-owned TikTok evokes the censorship regimes put in place by the United States' authoritarian enemies.

Trump indicated earlier this week that he favoured allowing TikTok to keep operating in the United States for at least a little while, saying he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign.

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Biden administration's argument

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

The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok's US patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information.

But the government "concedes that it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so," TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that the US fears are predicated on future risks.

In its filing on Friday, the Biden administration said because TikTok "is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its propriety engine developed and maintained in China," its corporate structure carries with it risk.

Around 59 percent of US adults under 30 years of age use the app, according to Pew Research, and 63 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 also use it. About 52 percent of US adult users say they get news there.

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