TikTok and its Chinese parent company asked the US Supreme Court to block a government ban set to take effect next month, making a late push to keep the social-media platform operating in a market with more than 170 million users.
The emergency request comes after a federal appeals court upheld a new law banning TikTok in the US if the parent company doesn’t sell the app by Jan. 19. The three-judge panel rejected TikTok’s free speech claims, saying Congress was legitimately acting to protect national security and user privacy.
Barring Supreme Court intervention, the ban will kick in the day before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. Because the Justice Department is charged with enforcing the law, Trump’s stance could also affect how the ban plays out in practice after Jan. 20.
Trump said Monday he would consider reversing the hard-line approach he took toward the app when he was president in 2020.
“We’ll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said Monday at press conference at Mar-a-Lago, attributing Republican gains with young voters to the platform. “TikTok had an impact, so we’re taking a look at it.”
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. asked the Supreme Court to act by Jan. 6.
“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 argued.
In its Dec. 6 ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected contentions by TikTok, ByteDance and a group of content creators. They argued that Congress violated the Constitution’s First Amendment by singling out the company.
By Greg Stohr
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