The U.S. Department of Justice requested late Friday that the Supreme Court reject Donald Trump’s request for a delay in the implementation of a new law that would either ban TikTok, a popular social media application, or force its sales by January 19.
Trump submitted a legal brief last week arguing that he should be given time to find a “political solution” to this issue after assuming office on January 20. The court will hear arguments on the case, scheduled for Jan. 10.
ByteDance’s Chinese owner of TikTok, ByteDance is required to divest its U.S. assets under the law passed in April or face a suspension. TikTok declined to comment immediately.
In its filing, the DOJ stated that Trump’s requests could only be granted after ByteDance proved it would succeed on merits. However, the company has not proven this.
DOJ stated that no one disagrees with the fact that China “seeks” to undermine U.S. interests by collecting sensitive data on Americans and engaging in malicious influence operations.
The government stated that “nobody can seriously contest that (China’s control) of TikTok via ByteDance presents a grave national security threat: TikTok collects reams and reams about 170 million Americans and their contacts, making it a powerful espionage tool.”
D. John Sauer, Trump’s lawyer, wrote to the Court last week that President-elect Trump “respectfully requests the Court consider extending the Act’s divestment deadline of January 19, 2020, while it examines the merits in this case. This will allow the incoming Trump administration the chance to pursue a resolution on the political questions raised by the case.”
TikTok urged the Supreme Court on Friday to block the law based on the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. It claimed that Congress did not seek to ban Chinese apps such as Shein or Temu. This strongly suggests that “it targeted TikTok’s social media content and not its data.”
Existing users can continue to use the app if the court doesn’t block it by Jan. 19. The services would gradually degrade and eventually stop working, as companies won’t be able to provide support.
Biden can extend the deadline if he certifies that ByteDance has made substantial progress toward a divestiture.
Trump’s support of TikTok represents a change from his 2020 position when he attempted to block the app within the United States due to its Chinese ownership and forced its sale to American firms.
