President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his intention to take charge of the decision-making process regarding TikTok’s operation in the United States once he assumes office on January 20, 2025.
In an amicus brief filed on Friday, Trump emphasized the significance of the national security and First Amendment issues intertwined in the case, stating his belief that he is best positioned to resolve them.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on January 10, 2025, regarding the law that mandates TikTok’s divestment from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, due to concerns over foreign adversary control.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to extend the deadline that would cause TikTok’s imminent shutdown and allow President Trump the opportunity to resolve the issue in a way that saves TikTok and preserves American national security once he resumes office as President of the United States on January 20, 2025,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.
TikTok, a social media platform with approximately 170 million American users, is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company linked to the Chinese Communist Party. The new legislation requires ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face its removal from app stores in the U.S.
Trump, in his brief, highlighted the tension between free speech and national security concerns, asserting his responsibility as the incoming president to address these matters. “This case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national-security concerns on the other,” the brief stated. ”
As the incoming Chief Executive, President Trump has a particularly powerful interest in and responsibility for those national-security and foreign-policy questions, and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means.”
Trump further noted his commitment to protecting First Amendment rights, saying, “Through his historic victory on November 5, 2024, President Trump received a powerful electoral mandate from American voters to protect the free-speech rights of all Americans—including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.”
The legislation includes a provision for a 90-day extension if ByteDance is actively divesting. However, Trump argued that the January 19 deadline hampers his administration’s ability to negotiate a resolution that ensures national security while preserving TikTok as a platform for American expression.
TikTok and ByteDance have filed an emergency application to block the law’s enforcement, citing First Amendment violations. They argue that the legislation unfairly targets TikTok and poses constitutional challenges.
TikTok’s “Project Texas,” a $1.5 billion initiative, was developed to address national security concerns by isolating U.S. user data on servers managed by Oracle in the United States. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew stated that the project ensures data is handled “by Americans, in America.”
Earlier this month, Trump met with Chew at Mar-a-Lago and expressed his support for TikTok. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump remarked during a press conference. Trump’s amicus brief emphasized his unique qualifications for resolving the issue, stating, “President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government.”
The Supreme Court’s expedited timeline for oral arguments will allow the case to be considered just days before the deadline. Trump’s incoming administration aims to resolve the issue through political means, potentially avoiding a court decision on the complex First Amendment questions.
