Trump opposes TikTok ban, asks Supreme Court for time to resolve via negotiations
Washington — Lawyers for TikTok on Friday urged the Supreme Court to rule unconstitutional a new law that could see the popular app banned in the U.S., arguing that shutting down TikTok would not only suppress speech on TikTok but also people on the platform. people’s remarks. 170 million US users. President-elect Donald Trump also filed a separate brief in which he said he opposed the current ban and asked for time to resolve the dispute through political negotiations.
in a opening briefing In a lawsuit submitted to the judge, lawyers for the platform urged them to overturn a ruling by a three-judge Court of Appeal panel that gave the first look at arguments TikTok will make to the High Court next month. uphold ban.
Lawyers for TikTok said in the filing that they “do not question Congress’s compelling interest in protecting national security, nor the many weapons Congress has at its disposal to do so. But that arsenal simply does not include silencing Americans’ speech because Other Americans might be persuaded.”
in its own Archive In explaining its reasons for maintaining the ban, the U.S. Department of Justice argued that the law complies with the First Amendment and stated that it is in the government’s urgent interest to prevent foreign rival China from controlling TikTok from posing a threat to national security.
Deputy Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the law “addresses the serious national security threat posed by the Chinese government’s control of TikTok, a platform that collects sensitive data on tens of millions of Americans and will “This bill would mitigate these threats not by imposing any restrictions on speech, but by banning foreign adversaries from controlling the platform.” “
The High Court said last week that Will accept the challenge of TikTok The ban was passed by Congress in April as part of a foreign aid package. The company had Ask the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the law and urged it to intervene before the ban takes effect on January 19.
The justices said they will consider whether the measure violates the First Amendment and scheduled two hours of arguments for Jan. 10, an accelerated schedule that could lead to a ruling soon after. In addition to TikTok’s challenge, the Supreme Court will also consider a separate lawsuit filed by a group of the platform’s users to block the ban.
The case will be argued in the final days of the Biden administration, but Trump, who takes office on January 20, has express support For TikTok. Trump tried to ban the app during his first term but reversed his position during the campaign. The president-elect has vowed to “save” the app, telling reporters earlier this month that he has “a warm place in my heart for TikTok.”
in a Amicus Briefs Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, said in a Supreme Court filing that he opposes banning the platform in the United States “at this moment” and “seeks a political solution to the issue at hand once he takes office.” ability”. Trump announced in November that he planned to nominate Sauer to serve as deputy attorney general in his second term.
The president-elect asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s January 19 effective date so that his new administration can “pursue a negotiated solution that would prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thereby safeguarding the rights of tens of millions of Americans.” Amendment rights, while also addressing the government’s national security concerns.”
Citing the Jan. 19 deadline, Trump said it interfered with his “ability to manage U.S. foreign policy and find solutions to protect national security and save the social media platforms that provide a popular platform for 170 million Americans.” tool” to exercise core First Amendment rights. “
Lawmakers have tried to limit TikTok’s access in the United States due to concerns about its ties to China. The platform is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, and members of both parties, as well as intelligence agencies, have warned that the app could give the Chinese government access to data on the roughly 170 million Americans who use TikTok. They also worry that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to secretly manipulate content on the platform and influence public dialogue.
Under the law, TikTok has nine months to divest itself from ByteDance or lose access to all U.S. app stores and web hosting services. If on January 19th.
TikTok’s lawyers argue Stripping is impossiblethe Chinese government has vowed to block the sale of the platform’s powerful algorithm that tailors content recommendations to users.
Launched in May, TikTok argued in its challenge The law considers it a violation of the First Amendment rights of the platform and its users. The company also said Congress had enacted an injunction against it that would bar every American from participating in its “unique online community.”
But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit disagreed, finding the government’s national security rationale for the law was consistent with the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” senior Justice Douglas Ginsburg, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote for the unanimous court. “The government’s actions are intended solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and limit that adversary’s ability to collect data on Americans.”
Ginsburg, joined by Justice Naomi Rao, a Trump appointee, and Chief Justice Sri Srinivasan, appointed by President Barack Obama, said that while the decision would have significant consequences for TikTok and its users impact, but “this burden is attributable to (China’s) hybrid commerce” threats to U.S. national security rather than threats to the U.S. government. “
The dispute has drawn a flurry of amicus briefs from members of Congress, civil liberties groups, former national security officials and TikTok users.
