President-elect Trump should be the one to make the decision on whether TikTok can continue to operate in the United States because of the unique national security and First Amendment issues raised by the case, he said in an amicus brief Friday.
Trump’s argument comes in an amicus brief “that does not support either party,” filed on Friday, weeks before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on January 10, 2025 on the law that would require TikTok to be removed from the control of a foreign adversary.
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TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to extend the deadline that would cause the imminent shutdown of TikTok, and to allow President Trump the opportunity to resolve the issue in a way that saves and preserves TikTok,” Trump’s spokesperson and communications director said. Next to the White House, Stephen Cheung, told Fox News Digital: “US national security once he resumes office as President of the United States on January 20, 2025.”
“President Donald J. Trump (“President Trump”) is the 45th and soon-to-be 47th President of the United States of America,” the brief said. “On January 20, 2025, President Trump will assume responsibility for United States national security, foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Trump claims that “this case represents an unprecedented, new, and difficult tension between the rights of free expression on the one hand, and concerns about foreign policy and national security on the other hand.” “As the next Chief Executive, President Trump has a particularly strong interest in and responsibility for matters of national security and foreign policy, and is the appropriate constitutional actor to resolve the conflict through political means.
President Trump also has a unique interest in the First Amendment issues raised in this case, the brief states. Through his historic victory on November 5, 2024, President Trump secured a strong electoral mandate from American voters to protect free speech rights. “Among all Americans, including the 170 million Americans who use TikTok.”
“President Trump is in a unique position to defend these interests,” the brief continues, because “the President and Vice President of the United States are the only elected officials who represent all of the nation’s voters.”
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Trump says that because of his “overarching responsibility for the national security and foreign policy of the United States, President Trump opposes the TikTok ban in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once in office.” “.
“On September 4, 2024, President Trump posted on Truth Social, ‘For all those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump!'” the summary read.
Trump says he “alone has the savvy deal-making experience, electoral mandate, and political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the government — concerns that President Trump himself has acknowledged.”
“Indeed, President Trump’s first term has been highlighted by a series of policy victories achieved through historic deals, and he has a high likelihood of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor,” the summary said.
Trump notes that the 270-day deadline imposed by the new TikTok law “expires on January 19, 2025, one day before President Trump takes office as the 47th President of the United States.”
The TikTok Corporation building in Culver City, California, on March 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Damien Dovarganis, File)
The legislation, which was signed into law in the spring, requires TikTok to be sold from ByteDance by January 19. If ByteDance does not divest by the deadline, Google and Apple will not be able to offer TikTok in their US app stores.
“This unfortunate timing interferes with President Trump’s ability to conduct U.S. foreign policy and seek a solution to protect national security and save the social media platform that provides a popular means for 170 million Americans to exercise their fundamental First Amendment rights,” the brief states. “Furthermore, the law imposes time constraints, without specifying any compelling government interest in this specific deadline.”
Trump points to the law, which “is considering extending the deadline by 90 days under specific circumstances.”
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The Supreme Court justices said they would hold a special session on January 10 to hear oral arguments in the case, an expedited timeline that allows them to hear the case just nine days before the ban scheduled for January 19 takes effect. The law allows the president to extend the deadline for up to 90 days if ByteDance is in the process of divesting.
“President Trump, therefore, has a compelling interest as the next incarnation of executive authority in the statutory deadline remaining to allow his incoming administration the opportunity to seek a negotiated solution to these issues,” the summary said. “If successful, such a decision would eliminate the need for this Court to decide the historically challenging First Amendment question presented here on a very expeditious and current basis.”
TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court earlier this month asking the justices to temporarily block enforcement of the law while they appeal the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
View of the United States Supreme Court building. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
TikTok’s lawyers argued that the law passed earlier this year is a violation of the First Amendment, noting in their application to the Supreme Court that Congress’ “unprecedented attempt to discriminate and prevent applicants from operating one of this nation’s most important speech platforms” and “presents constitutional problems.” “So dangerous this court probably won’t allow it to exist.”
TikTok last year created the “Project Texas” initiative dedicated to addressing concerns about US national security.
“Project Texas” creates an independent version of the TikTok platform for the US isolated on servers in the US Oracle cloud, says TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. It was developed by CFIUS and its implementation cost the company about $1.5 billion.
Chiu argued that TikTok is not beholden to any one country, though executives in the past have acknowledged that Chinese officials had access to Americans’ data even when U.S.-based TikTok officials were not able to. TikTok claims the new initiative keeps US user data safe, telling Fox News Digital that the data is managed “by Americans in America.”
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Trump has indicated his support for TikTok. Earlier this month, he met with Chu at Mar-a-Lago, telling reporters during a pre-meeting news conference that his incoming administration would “take a look at TikTok” and the looming US ban.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump told reporters.
