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DOJ Urges Supreme Court to Reject Trump’s Request to Delay TikTok Divestment Law

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has called on the Supreme Court to deny President-elect Donald Trump’s request to postpone the implementation of a law mandating the divestment or ban of TikTok in the United States by January 19, 2025. The law, passed in April, requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operations to address national security concerns or face a nationwide ban.

In its filing, the DOJ asserted that ByteDance had failed to show a likelihood of success in its legal challenge to the law. “No one disputes China seeks to undermine US interests by amassing sensitive data about Americans and engaging in covert and malign influence operations,” the DOJ argued.

The department described ByteDance’s control of TikTok as a “grave threat to national security,” emphasizing the app’s extensive data collection capabilities, which include sensitive information from its 170 million US users.

President-elect Trump, in a legal brief submitted last week, requested the Supreme Court to stay the law’s January 19 deadline. His filing argued that the incoming administration should have the opportunity to negotiate a political resolution to the matter.

“The president-elect respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline… thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” wrote Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer.

This stance represents a reversal from 2020, when Trump, as president, sought to ban TikTok and compel its sale to US companies due to concerns over its Chinese ownership.

On Friday, TikTok urged the Supreme Court to block the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution. ByteDance, however, did not immediately issue a comment on the DOJ’s latest filing.

The Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether TikTok’s US operations face an immediate deadline or if the incoming administration will have time to seek a diplomatic resolution. The case continues to highlight the tension between national security concerns and the rights of foreign-owned businesses operating in the US.

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