United States: President-elect Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay a law that could ban the popular app TikTok or force its sale. He wants time after becoming president to find a “political solution” to the problem. The court will hear the case on January 10.
Under the law, if TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is somehow unable to sell the platform to an American company, TikTok would be banned. In April, the U.S. Congress voted to ban it unless ByteDance sells the app by Jan. 19.
And TikTok and its parent have lobbied to have that law struck down because the social media site has more than 170 million U.S. users. However, if the court does not rule in their favour and no divestment takes place, the app will be effectively banned in the United States from Jan. 19 — one day before Trump takes office.
As reported by the Reuters, and it is the opposite of what Trump did in 2020, when he sought to ban TikTok in the US and force it sold to US companies due to its Chinese ownership.
It also indicates the company’s great efforts to take seats with Trump and his crew during the presidential campaign.
“I do not think the president is taking any position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” D. John Sauer, Trump’s lawyer who will be his pick for U.S. solicitor general, said.
“Instead, the President humbly asks the Court to consider staying the time-limit for divestment under the Act (January 19, 2025), pending decision on the merits of this case to give the incoming Trump administration a political opportunity to seek a solution through authorities,” he added.
Trump also met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in December, just hours after the president elect said he had a ‘warm spot’ for the app and wanted to let TikTok stay in the US for at least a bit.
He also added he’d garnered billions of views on the social media platform while running for presidency.
TikTok declined to comment.