President-elect Donald Trump has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to delay a potential ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, set to take effect on January 19. Trump aims to negotiate a solution to keep the app available to its over 170 million American users.
This move aligns with Trump’s campaign pledge to ensure continued access to the popular platform if elected. Despite his previous criticisms of China and TikTok over national security concerns, reports suggest Trump is willing to intervene to preserve the app.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, faces a January 19 deadline to divest the platform to a non-Chinese entity or face a U.S. ban under a bipartisan law passed in April. Supporters of the law argue that TikTok could be exploited by the Chinese government for data collection or manipulation.
In his Supreme Court filing, Trump avoided taking a stance on the legal dispute but signaled his intent to keep TikTok operational in the U.S.
“President Trump possesses the negotiation skills, electoral mandate, and political determination needed to broker a solution that addresses national security concerns while preserving the platform,” the filing stated.