The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has called on the Supreme Court to reject a request by President-elect Donald Trump to delay the implementation of a law that would either force the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations or ban the app outright. According to Reuters, the DOJ filed its request late Friday, arguing that Trump’s legal team has not demonstrated that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is likely to succeed on the merits of its case.

The law in question, passed in April 2024, mandates that ByteDance divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban on the popular social media platform. Trump’s legal brief, filed last week, asked the court to postpone that deadline, citing a need for more time to seek a political resolution to the matter after he takes office on January 20. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on January 10.

Per Reuters, the DOJ stressed in its filing that concerns over TikTok’s data practices are a matter of national security, stating that no one disputes China’s interest in collecting sensitive information on American citizens. The filing asserts that TikTok’s extensive collection of user data poses a “grave threat” due to the potential for espionage and covert influence.

“No one can seriously dispute that [China’s] control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a grave threat to national security,” the government argued, emphasizing that TikTok’s access to data on approximately 170 million Americans could be exploited.

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TikTok, however, contends that the law unfairly targets the app on the basis of its social media content rather than its data practices. In a filing submitted Friday, TikTok urged the Supreme Court to block the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. According to Reuters, the company pointed to Congress’s decision not to ban other Chinese-owned apps, such as Shein or Temu, as evidence that TikTok was singled out for its platform content.

If the Supreme Court does not intervene before the January 19 deadline, the law would ban new downloads of TikTok from major app stores, including Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Although existing users would still be able to access the app temporarily, the DOJ said services would gradually degrade and eventually cease as companies would be prohibited from providing updates and support.

In his filing, Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, argued that delaying the implementation of the law would allow the new administration to explore diplomatic solutions. “The president-elect respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” Sauer wrote.

The broader legal battle over TikTok has been ongoing for years amid growing concerns in Washington about the app’s Chinese ownership and its potential impact on U.S. security. Critics of the platform argue that its data collection practices could be leveraged by Beijing for surveillance purposes, a claim that TikTok has repeatedly denied.

Source: Reuters