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The Justice Department has pushed back on President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay a Supreme Court ruling on a law that would ban TikTok in the US or force its sale by January 19, a day before President-Elect Trump takes office.
Some shit you should know before you read: Last year, Congress passed the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” with bipartisan support, addressing widespread concerns about the potential national security risks posed by TikTok’s Chinese ownership. The law, later signed by President Biden, requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either divest its US operations or face an outright ban, based on fears that the Chinese government could exploit the platform’s algorithm to manipulate information and access sensitive user data from millions of Americans. Recently, President-elect Donald Trump requested the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation, arguing that the forced sale would be premature and that more time would be needed to negotiate a political resolution. Trump, who has changed his position on TikTok, now publicly defends TikTok over its popularity and reach.
What’s going on now: In court filings, the Justice Department pushed back on President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay the implementation of a law banning TikTok or forcing its divestment, stressing the app’s risks to national security. The DOJ argued that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is subject to influence by the Chinese government, which could exploit the platform’s vast data collection and algorithmic power for espionage or covert influence campaigns. “TikTok’s collection of reams of sensitive data about 170 million Americans and their contacts makes it a powerful tool for espionage,” the filing stated, further warning that the Chinese government could deploy this power “at a pivotal moment during a crisis.”
The Justice Department also dismissed claims that the law violates the First Amendment, arguing that it “does not impose a burden on any cognizable First Amendment rights of ByteDance, its U.S. subsidiary, or TikTok’s users.” Instead, the DOJ said the Act targets the platform’s foreign ownership, not its content.
