President-elect Trump petitions Supreme Court to delay TikTok's January 19 sale deadline, seeking time to negotiate solution for app's U.S. future.
Trump Petitions Supreme Court to Extend TikTok Divestment Timeline
Two weeks ahead of Supreme Court oral arguments regarding TikTok's fate, President-elect Donald Trump has petitioned the justices to extend the January 19 deadline when the app must either find new ownership or cease U.S. operations.
Trump's solicitor general nominee John Sauer submitted an amicus brief requesting the court stay the deadline, allowing the incoming president to pursue a "negotiated resolution" to preserve the platform.
The document portrays Trump as the individual who "uniquely possesses the supreme deal-making capabilities, popular mandate, and leadership determination to broker an agreement that would maintain the platform while resolving the Government's national security apprehensions."
Trump's submission indicates he "stands against prohibiting TikTok within the United States at this time," though refrains from stating whether the mandated sale violates First Amendment protections, maintaining neutrality on the case's core issues.
Rather, Sauer's filing seeks a deadline suspension to permit Trump's incoming administration "to seek a negotiated settlement that could avert a nationwide TikTok shutdown, thereby safeguarding the First Amendment liberties of tens of millions of Americans, while simultaneously addressing the government's national security considerations."
ADDITIONAL: Trump Hosts TikTok CEO Shou Chew at Mar-a-Lago
TikTok, boasting over 170 million American users, has legally challenged the statute requiring its current Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell by January 19 or face U.S. prohibition.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court dismissed the company's emergency petition to suspend the deadline.
ADDITIONAL: TikTok's Emergency Stay Request Denied
The Supreme Court has scheduled case arguments for January 10.
President Joe Biden enacted the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, embedded within a comprehensive $95 billion foreign aid package, on April 24.
Biden and various congressional leaders maintained that the TikTok ultimatum was essential due to security issues regarding ByteDance and its ties to China's government.
Trump previously attempted to prohibit TikTok during his first presidency but has since shifted position, pledging throughout his 2024 presidential bid to "preserve" the platform.
In Trump's amicus submission, Sauer highlighted social media censorship concerns, citing Brazil's recent month-long restriction of platform X, the handling of the Hunter Biden laptop narrative, and governmental efforts to combat COVID-19 misinformation as events warranting judicial consideration.
"This Court must exercise profound caution regarding precedent that might facilitate widespread governmental suppression of social media expression," Sauer stated in the document. "A Western government's authority to eliminate an entire social media platform exceeding 100 million users should, at minimum, receive thorough deliberation—not evaluation on a 'highly expedited basis.'"
While Sauer recognized potential national security threats under ByteDance's ownership, he urged the justices to scrutinize national security officials, whom he alleged "have consistently engineered social-media censorship of unfavored content and perspectives through combined pressure, coercion, and deception."
"A striking similarity exists between the D.C. Circuit's near-complete deference to national security officials advocating social-media censorship, and the recent, well-documented pattern of federal officials' extensive participation in social-media suppression efforts targeting tens of millions of Americans' speech," Sauer wrote.