Trump asks Supreme Court to delay law on banning TikTok

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the implementation of a law that would ban social media app TikTok or force its sale until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.  

"In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues," Trump's legal team wrote, to give him "the opportunity to pursue a political resolution."

At a press conference last week, Trump said he has "a warm spot" for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential ban. 

In April, U.S. President Joe Biden enacted the law that gives ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, only 270 days to sell TikTok, citing unfounded national security concerns. If the company fails to comply, the law will require app store operators such as Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their platforms.

In May, TikTok sued the U.S. government to block the potential ban, which has drawn widespread criticism.

In early December, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. dismissed TikTok's claim that the ban is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment rights of the 170 million U.S. users.

TikTok then turned to U.S. Supreme Court, asked the court to block the law, arguing that it will shutter one of America's most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration, and "silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the request from TikTok and is set to hear arguments on January 10 regarding whether the law unconstitutionally limits freedom of speech, in breach of the First Amendment.

If the U.S.'s top court does not rule in their favor and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the United States on January 19, one day before Trump takes office.

(With input from agencies)