Garland asks Supreme Court to reject request to delay Trump’s TikTok ban

Attorney General Merrick Garland urged the Supreme Court to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay implementation of a law that would force TikTok’s Chinese shareholders to divest from the social media platform.

The impending law would require TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the company’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban. Congress passed the law, which President Biden signed in April, with bipartisan support amid concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and potential access by the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok and its users have fought the law, arguing that shutting down the platform in the United States could infringe on First Amendment rights and have financial consequences for those who use the app to grow their businesses.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, filed a brief with the high court last week, arguing that the court should issue an injunction against the law so that the president-elect can “resolve the issues at stake through political means”.

Mr. Sauer argued that the Congressional law could run counter to the right to free speech and that Mr. Trump should be allowed to intervene. If the court does not stop or delay the law, it would take effect a day before Inauguration Day. .

Mr. Garland countered in a document released Friday evening that the Chinese government has a history of using private companies, like TikTok, to collect data on American consumers, and that as a result, “no one can seriously dispute that the (People’s Republic of China)’s control of TikTok through ByteDance poses a serious threat to national security.

He added: “TikTok’s collection of a wealth of sensitive data on 170 million Americans and their contacts makes it a powerful spying tool, and TikTok’s role as a key communications channel makes it a weapon powerful for covert influence operations.

“As long as TikTok remains under PRC control, the PRC could use these weapons against the United States at any time, such as at a pivotal moment in a crisis.”

TikTok lost in lower courts, and the Supreme Court refused to enforce an injunction to stop the law from taking effect until it heard from all sides on January 10.

Mr. Trump opposed the social media platform during his first term. He has since joined the app and amassed nearly 15 million followers.

Mr. Sauer said: “Only President Trump has the perfect negotiating expertise, electoral mandate and political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the administration – ​​concerns that President Trump himself has acknowledged. »

Mr. Garland reiterated that the nature of the law has nothing to do with prohibiting free speech and is consistent with the nation’s “tradition of prohibiting or restricting foreign control of communications channels and other critical infrastructure”.

—Alex Swoyer contributed to this story.