The U.S. DOJ urges the Supreme Court to reject Trump’s request to delay TikTok’s potential ban or forced sale by Jan. 19, citing national security concerns and data privacy issues.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a request with the Supreme Court late on Friday to deny President-elect Donald Trump's request to delay a law requiring the popular social media app TikTok to either be sold or banned by January 19.
Trump had filed a legal brief last week, seeking time after his inauguration on January 20 to pursue a "political resolution" on the matter. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on January 10.
The law, enacted in April, mandates that TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, divest its U.S. assets or face a ban. TikTok has yet to comment on the matter.
The DOJ argued in its filing that Trump’s request could only be granted if ByteDance could demonstrate a strong likelihood of success in the case, which the company has not done. The government stated that China’s attempts to undermine U.S. interests through data collection and covert influence operations are widely acknowledged.
The government also argued that ByteDance’s control of TikTok poses a significant national security threat, pointing to the vast amount of sensitive data TikTok collects from 170 million Americans, which could be used for espionage.
Trump's lawyer, D. John Sauer, argued that the incoming administration should be allowed time to negotiate a political resolution and requested that the Court postpone the divestment deadline.
TikTok, on the other hand, asked the Supreme Court to block the law on the grounds of free speech under the First Amendment. It pointed out that Congress had not taken action against other Chinese-owned apps like Shein or Temu, suggesting TikTok was being targeted due to its content, not its data practices.
If the law is not blocked by January 19, new downloads of TikTok would be banned on app stores like Apple and Google, although existing users could still access the app. Over time, however, the app’s functionality would degrade as companies would be prohibited from providing support.
President Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if ByteDance makes significant progress toward divesting TikTok’s U.S. assets.
Trump's stance on TikTok has shifted since 2020, when he attempted to block the app and push for its sale due to concerns over its Chinese ownership.
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