Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to halt a law that could temporarily ban TikTok so his next administration can pursue a “negotiated solution” to prevent the app from being shut down.
“President Trump takes no position on the subject of the dispute. Instead, he urges the court to stay
The effective date of the law to allow its next administration to pursue a negotiated solution
It could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of dozens of people
“For millions of Americans, while also addressing the government's national security concerns,” Trump's lawyers wrote in a Supreme Court brief.
Congress overwhelmingly passed a law last year to force ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to sell the social media platform or face restrictions on its availability in the United States.
Read Donald Trump's TikTok summary.
TikTok has challenged the law, and the Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to hear the challenge on an expedited timeline. Oral arguments were scheduled for Jan. 10, but opening briefs were scheduled for today, as well as amicus curiae briefs.
TikTok said it faces a ban in the US on January 19 unless the law is paused or sidelined.
In his first term, Trump sought to force the sale of TikTok via executive order. But these efforts ultimately foundered in the courts. This year, even as a bipartisan group of lawmakers sought to pass legislation mandating divestment, Trump signaled his opposition to such a move. He credited TikTok as a valuable platform in his reelection campaign.
In their brief, Trump's lawyers argued that the new law “raises concerns about potential legislative encroachment on the powers of the executive branch under Article II” of the Constitution.
They noted that the law “requires the president to make a certain national security decision regarding TikTok alone, granting the president a greater degree of discretion and freedom from legal restrictions” as is the case with all other social media platforms.
They pointed out that the law stipulates that “the President of the Republic must exercise his authority over foreign affairs.”
“Through an interagency process” ordered by Congress, rather than exercising its discretion alone
Deliberative processes of executive power.”
His legal team also noted that the pluscinemaz.comcame one day before Trump took office.
“The First Amendment implications of the federal government's virtual shutdown of a social media platform used by 170 million Americans are sweeping and troubling,” his lawyers wrote. “There are valid concerns that the law would set a dangerous global precedent by exercising its extraordinary power to shut down an entire social media platform,” his lawyers wrote. Based on concerns about unwanted speech on that platform.
