Trump spoke with TikTok CEO after requesting Supreme Court to pause app ban, CNN reports
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump spoke with TikTok CEO Shou Chew on Friday night after the incoming president asked the Supreme Court to pause a TikTok ban set to take effect the day before he takes office, CNN reported on Saturday.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” said D. John Sauer, Trump’s lawyer who is also the president-elect’s pick for U.S. solicitor general.
“Instead, he 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, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” he added.
The court is set to hear arguments in the case on Jan. 10.
The law would require TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban. The U.S. Congress voted in April to ban it unless ByteDance sells the app by Jan. 19.
Trump previously met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in December, hours after the president-elect said he had a “warm spot” for the app and that he favoured allowing TikTok to keep operating in the United States for at least a little while.
The president-elect also said he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign.
The U.S. Justice Department has argued Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security, a position supported by most U.S. lawmakers.
Conversely, the company has previously said the Justice Department has misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the United States on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp ORCL.N while content moderation decisions that affect U.S. users are made in the United States as well.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign, and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content aimed at going viral.
Earlier this year, he stated that while he still believed TikTok posed national security risks, he opposed banning the platform and would seek to resolve the issue “through political means.”
