Donald Trump asks US Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

President-elect Donald Trump has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the potential implementation of a TikTok ban, to allow his administration to pursue a “political solution” to the issue.

This request comes as TikTok and the Biden administration have submitted opposing briefs to the court. TikTok argues that the court should reject a law that could ban the platform by January 19, while the government emphasizes its position that the legislation is necessary to eliminate national security risks.

In an amicus brief supporting neither side of the case, Trump stated, “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the divestiture deadline of January 19, 2025, set by the Act, while the Court considers the merits of the case.” The statement was authored by D. John Sauer, Trump's nominee for Deputy Attorney General.

This argument submitted to the court is the latest instance of Trump's intervention in national affairs before taking office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries regarding his planned tariffs and earlier this month interfered with a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a rejection of a bipartisan plan and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.

While assembling his government, he has also been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.

Trump has shifted his position on the popular app, which he tried to ban during his first term over national security concerns. During his 2024 presidential campaign, he joined TikTok, with his team using it to connect with younger voters, particularly men, by pushing content that was often masculine and designed to go viral.

He stated earlier this year that he still believes TikTok poses a national security risk, but that he opposes banning it. These filings on Friday come ahead of oral arguments on January 10 regarding whether the law illegally restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law requires TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a ban.

The law was signed into law in April by President Joe Biden after receiving broad bipartisan support in Congress. TikTok and ByteDance subsequently filed legal challenges. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the legislation, leading to TikTok’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

Trump's statement indicates that he opposes banning TikTok at this time and “seeks the ability to address the present issues through political means once he is in office.” In a brief submitted to the Supreme Court today, lawyers for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued that the federal appeals court ruling was in error and that its decision was based on a “so-called ‘risk’ that China might exert control” over TikTok’s U.S. platform “by pressuring its overseas subsidiary.”

The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its ties to China. Officials have stated that Chinese authorities could compel ByteDance to turn over data on TikTok’s U.S. users or use the platform to spread or suppress information. But TikTok’s legal filings state that the government “concedes it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so,” adding that the U.S.’s concerns are based on future risks.

The Biden administration stated in its filings that the company’s structure itself carries risk, due to TikTok’s “integration with ByteDance and reliance on its proprietary engine, developed and maintained in China.”