After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law that forces a sale or ban of TikTok, the company and President-elect Donald Trump said in separate statements that there may be a solution that keeps the social media app available in the U.S.
The Supreme Court upheld the law Friday (Jan. 17) when it rejected TikTok’s challenge, which cited the First Amendment, The New York Times reported.
The law’s deadline for TikTok to be sold or banned is Sunday (Jan. 19), the report said.
The court’s decision was unanimous, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Its unsigned opinion cited “well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” per the report.
The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden in April amid concerns that the TikTok app presented a national security threat.
While the law takes effect Sunday, the Biden Administration has said it will not enforce it, leaving that to the incoming Trump Administration that takes office on the next day, according to the WSJ report.
Trump said in a Friday post on Truth Social: “The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distantfuture, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
In another post made two hours earlier, Trump said he had just spoken to Chairman Xi Jinping of China and that TikTok was a topic of that discussion.
“It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” Trump said. “We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects.”
In a TikTok video dubbed “Our response to the Supreme Court decision,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company is “grateful and pleased to have the support of a President who truly understands our platform.”
“On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” Chew said.