Trump Seeks Supreme Court Delay on TikTok Ban to Pursue Political Solution

President-elect Donald Trump has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to delay a looming nationwide TikTok ban, citing his desire to address the issue through diplomatic channels after taking office.

Trump’s legal team filed the request on Friday, arguing that the president-elect opposes the ban and intends to resolve the contentious matter “through political means.”

The ban, slated to take effect on January 19—just a day before Trump’s inauguration—stems from a U.S. law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its ownership to an American firm. The law, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden, was driven by national security concerns over alleged ties between ByteDance and the Chinese government—claims both ByteDance and TikTok deny.

In his filing, Trump described the legal battle as involving “an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights and national security concerns.” While he refrained from taking a stance on the merits of the case, Trump urged the court to postpone the deadline, allowing his administration the opportunity to broker a political solution.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on January 10, less than two weeks before the ban would take effect.

The TikTok controversy has divided policymakers and users alike. With over 170 million American users, TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon, particularly among young people.

Also Read: 14 US States sue TikTok over failure to protect children

Trump’s request marks a shift from his earlier stance. During his first term, he supported efforts to ban the app but has since expressed a softer approach. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points,” Trump recently joked, though official data indicates most young voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.

Despite Trump’s appeal for a delay, the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of nearly two dozen state attorneys general, led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen, continue to back the law, citing national security concerns.

A federal appeals court recently upheld the legislation, calling it “the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by Congress and successive presidents.