President-elect Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to delay a ban on the TikTok social media platform until he assumes office in January.
The ban stems from a court decision requiring ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell the platform to an American company. It is set to take effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration.
Trump’s lawyer stated in a legal brief filed Friday that the president-elect opposes banning TikTok and wants time to pursue a “political solution.”
The ban was initiated because US officials expressed concerns that ByteDance has ties to the Chinese government, an allegation the company denies.
Congress passed a bill in April mandating ByteDance either divest TikTok or face a ban, and President Joe Biden signed it into law.
TikTok and ByteDance have challenged the measure in court, arguing it violates free speech protections in the US. Despite their efforts, the company has struggled to overturn the legislation, which puts TikTok’s 170 million American users at risk of losing access to the app.