What just happened? TikTok is continuing its fight to avoid being banned in the United States. After a federal court refused to delay the law that could lead to the app's ban, the company is now asking the supreme court for help. The move comes after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew met with Donald Trump in Florida yesterday. The president-elect said he has "a warm spot in my heart for TikTok" and that he would "take a look" at the matter.
In March, a group of lawmakers announced a bill designed to "protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications." It would force owner ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets or be banned in the United States.
President Biden signed the bill into law in April, giving TikTok and ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to comply.
TikTok said divestment isn't an option as the Chinese government wouldn't allow it, and has been fighting against the ban without success.
The company argued that the law was a violation of users' First Amendment rights and unfairly targeted the platform. It petitioned to have the law overturned, but the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit rejected these arguments at the start of the month.
TikTok then filed an emergency injunction requesting a delay in the law taking effect. This was also denied, by a federal court.
TikTok's last-ditch attempt to avoid being banned in the US on January 19 now rests in the hands of the US Supreme Court. Both the company and ByteDance have filed an emergency request for an injunction to halt the ban. A group of US TikTok users filed a similar request on Monday as well, writes Reuters.
Trump has previously said he would "save" TikTok, something that was referenced in the new filing with the Supreme Court. "It would not be in the interest of anyone – not the parties, the public, or the courts – for the Act's ban on TikTok to take effect only for the new Administration to halt its enforcement hours, days, or even weeks later," TikTok and ByteDance wrote. Trump is being inaugurated on January 20, one day after the ban comes into effect.
TikTok is asking for a "modest delay" to the ban to "create breathing room" for a review by the Court and to allow the incoming administration to "evaluate this matter."
The Justice Department claims TikTok poses a national security threat by allowing the Chinese government to collect data on American citizens and manipulate what content they see on the app. The DoJ speculated that Beijing could use this sensitive data to sow disruption in the US and cast suspicion on its democratic processes.
"If Americans, duly informed of the alleged risks of 'covert' content manipulation, choose to continue viewing content on TikTok with their eyes wide open, the first amendment entrusts them with making that choice, free from the government's censorship," TikTok and ByteDance stated in the filing.
It's unclear what transpired during Trump's meeting with Chew at Mar-a-Lago yesterday. "I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points," Trump said during a press conference yesterday. "There are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that. TikTok had an impact."
Trump, who joined TikTok in June 2024, attempted to ban the platform in the US during his first term in office.
TikTok appeals to Supreme Court to delay US ban, CEO meets with Trump
