President-elect Donald Trump has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to delay a looming ban on TikTok, citing his intention to resolve the issue politically once he takes office. The ban, set to take effect on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration, mandates TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American firm or face prohibition.
In a legal brief filed on Friday, Trump’s lawyer argued that the president-elect opposes banning TikTok and prefers to address the issue diplomatically. The filing describes the case as presenting “an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other.”
The January 10 Supreme Court hearing will decide on the constitutionality of a U.S. law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok. The law, signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, stems from concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers about TikTok’s alleged ties to the Chinese government—a claim ByteDance denies.
TikTok, which has around 170 million users in the U.S., has challenged the law on the grounds that it violates American free speech protections. Despite filing multiple legal challenges, ByteDance and TikTok have seen limited success in overturning the legislation. Their last hope lies with the Supreme Court, which previously declined an emergency injunction but agreed to hear arguments in January.
The Justice Department and several state attorneys general have supported the ban, citing national security concerns. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, alongside nearly two dozen counterparts, has urged the Supreme Court to uphold the legislation, describing it as the culmination of bipartisan action by Congress and successive administrations.
Trump’s stance on TikTok has evolved significantly. While he supported banning the app during his first term, he has now publicly opposed it. In a December press conference, Trump claimed TikTok played a role in his popularity among young voters, despite evidence showing that a majority of youth supported his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump recently met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, signaling a potential openness to negotiation. His filing argues that delaying the ban would give him time to “pursue a political resolution” without judicial intervention.
