CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to suspend the controversial TikTok ban that is set to go into effect next month, telling the justices in a legal filing Friday that a delay would force the administration to will be able to “pursue a negotiated solution”, he said.
President Trump’s request to delay implementation of the ban puts the ban at odds with the Biden administration, which defended the law in a short speech on Friday and said there are “serious” national security concerns against TikTok’s continued operations in the United States. warned of concerns.
In one of the most important cases pending before the Supreme Court, the justices will have to consider whether Congress’s ban on TikTok, approved in April, violates the First Amendment. The court has already scheduled two hours of oral arguments in the case on January 10th.
On Friday, the court was flooded with about two dozen briefs from groups and officials on both sides of the issue. Trump is technically not a party to this incident. Mr. Trump has submitted a “friend of the court” brief, as have several outside groups, members of Congress and others willing to offer positions.
But given that the ban is scheduled to go into effect on January 19, the day before the presidential inauguration, Trump’s position could have significant implications for the justices.
In his brief, President Trump did not take a precise position on the underlying First Amendment issues raised in the case, but he did say that he hoped the administration could explore ways to resolve the issue without a ban. , asked the court to delay the January 19 effective date.
President Trump told the court that he would “protect the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans by ensuring that the next administration pursues a negotiated solution that can prevent a national shutdown of TikTok.” However, they recommended that the court suspend the effective date of the ban to allow the government to address its national security concerns.” ”
The president-elect has previously sent mixed signals about his views on TikTok, recently vowing to “save” the platform. CNN previously reported that President Trump met with TikTok CEO Hsu Chu earlier this month.
Two people familiar with the matter told CNN’s Caitlan Collins that Mr. Thieu met with Mr. Trump on Friday night after the president-elect asked the high court to suspend the ban.
Congress passed the ban with bipartisan support in response to longstanding concerns that TikTok’s Chinese parent company posed a national security risk. That’s because, as the Biden administration warned in a Friday briefing, the company can collect data about users and manipulate the content they see. .
The law allows the app to continue in the United States if it is severed from Chinese ownership. The law gives a sitting president broad authority to decide whether a corporation has properly separated from its owners.
In his first brief to the Supreme Court since winning the election, Trump argued that he was acting under “strong electoral authority” and was uniquely positioned to resolve the TikTok dispute. At one point, he described himself as “one of the most powerful, prolific, and influential social media users of all time.”
“The First Amendment implications of the federal government’s effective shutdown of social media platforms used by 170 million Americans are far-reaching and alarming,” President Trump’s brief states. This is a situation that should be addressed.” “This law would rightly set a dangerous global precedent by exercising extraordinary powers to shut down entire social media platforms based primarily on concerns about adverse speech on the platforms.” There are concerns.”
Entry ban for Biden and former Trump
Early Friday morning, President Joe Biden’s administration and a bipartisan group of former government officials, including some who once worked for President Trump, told the Supreme Court that TikTok’s relationship with China is “significant” to China. They called for support for banning TikTok, saying it posed a threat. American security.
“TikTok collects vast amounts of data about tens of millions of Americans,” the administration told the Supreme Court on Friday. And China “could covertly manipulate the platforms to advance its own geopolitical interests and harm the United States, for example by spreading discord and disinformation in times of crisis.” said.
Arguments filed Friday with the Supreme Court highlight the tension between national security and free speech at a time when 170 million Americans use TikTok for news and entertainment. There is.
President Trump acknowledged in a briefing on Friday that his administration had also expressed concerns about the platform and had signed an executive order restricting the app. When Trump was president in 2020, he signed an executive order that effectively banned TikTok, but it was blocked by a court.
But he said Friday that the “unfortunate timing” of the law’s effective date “impairs our ability to pursue solutions that save social media platforms that govern U.S. foreign policy and provide national security and social services.” “It will hinder,” he claimed. It is a popular way for 170 million Americans to exercise their core First Amendment rights. ”
President Trump said delaying the law’s effective date “may obviate the need for this court to decide historically difficult First Amendment questions.”
Former Trump officials who filed legal briefs on Friday supporting the Biden administration’s position and the TikTok ban include Trump administration’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, There was also Ajit Pai, who was appointed as the Chairman of the Communications Committee.
The most notable former Trump ally supporting the Biden administration is former Vice President Mike Pence.
Advancing American Freedom, a political advocacy group founded in 2021 by President Donald Trump’s first-term vice president, has signed a brief describing TikTok as “digital fentanyl” and “technological weapon.”
“The First Amendment is not a means to give the Chinese government the power to do what the U.S. government cannot do, which is to manipulate what Americans can say and hear, and it cannot be interpreted as such,” the group told the Supreme Court. It shouldn’t be done.”
TikTok said in a court filing on Friday that the federal government is trying to shut down “one of the most important speech platforms in America,” and that lawmakers are under First Amendment restrictions on the company’s disclosures and other actions. He said he was being asked to consider his options. Owned.
“History and precedent teach us that speech bans should be Congress’ last resort, even when national security is at stake,” the company said.
Groups advocating for First Amendment protections, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, argue that Americans should go beyond the government’s national security claims to view online content. asked the Supreme Court to assess the impact of the ban on the freedom to choose.
“Restricting access to foreign media to protect against purported foreign manipulation is a practice long associated with repressive regimes,” the Knight First Amendment Institute wrote. are. “The government has no legitimate interest in prohibiting Americans from accessing foreign speech, even if that speech is foreign propaganda or reflects foreign manipulation. ”
The ACLU similarly warned that if the Supreme Court upholds the ban, there will be “widespread disruption to Americans’ ability to engage with the content and audiences of their choice online.”
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., unanimously upheld the ban, ruling that there is a national security interest in the government regulating the platforms.
The quick timing of the conference reflected the highly unusual speed with which the Supreme Court agreed to consider the case. The court agreed to remove the appeal from the emergency filings in which TikTok had sought to suspend the ban and delve into substantive First Amendment questions about the law.
Mr. Trump’s brief was filed by Democrat John Sauer, indicating that Mr. Trump intends to nominate him as attorney general, and if confirmed, he would represent the Trump administration on the Supreme Court.
“There are compelling reasons to extend the bill’s deadline and allow President Trump to seek a negotiated settlement after he takes office,” Sauer said.
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
