President-elect Donald Trump filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, asking the justices to block legislation that would have required the social media platform TikTok to be sold or shut down by January 19.
In April, President Joe Biden signed A law allowing Chinese-owned social media platforms to be banned unless they are sold to non-Chinese companies by the end of the year. Despite the company's attempts to challenge the bill as the shutdown date approaches, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Dec. 6 ruled that TikTok is a potential national security threat. The court unanimously ruled in favor of the ban, citing the above risks. Because the Chinese government is involved in the app.
in him New applicationPresident Trump opposes the ban and intends to resolve the issue “through political means once he takes office.”
“Only President Trump has the consummate expertise in consensus-building, electoral authority, and a resolution to preserve the platform while addressing the national security concerns the government has expressed (concerns that President Trump himself has acknowledged).” “We have the political will to negotiate a proposal,” the brief said. .
This photo illustration shows the TikTok logo on an iPhone. (Photo illustration: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok's challenge to the ban on December 18th, with oral arguments scheduled to begin on January 10th. In an emergency application to the high court, the social media platform said that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Act is the basis for the ban. It would not only “shut down” certain speech venues, it would also “silence the speech of the applicant and many others.” Americans who use this platform to communicate about politics, commerce, the arts, and other matters of public interest. ”
Despite attempts to ban the app through executive order, President Trump's move to ban social media platforms could benefit Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook. , publicly opposing the bill targeting TikTok.
“If we abolish TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck's business will double. We don't want Facebook to try harder after they rigged the last election. They are the true enemy of the people!” Trump said. Posted on Truth Social in March.
In addition to calling for Trump to address the issue after he takes office on January 20, the brief notes that Trump has many followers on TikTok, which allows him to “actively” communicate with his supporters. he claimed.
“President Trump is one of the most powerful, prolific and influential social media users in history,” the brief said. “Consistent with his dominant presence in this space, President Trump currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, is actively communicating, and is actively engaged in expressions including core political speech. We are now able to appreciate the importance of TikTok as a unique medium of freedom.”
Also added TikTok submitted On Friday, it filed a brief petition with the Supreme Court arguing that the laws used to support the ban violate the First Amendment.
“The government has banned an extraordinary amount of speech that demands respect for unsubstantiated predictions that future risks will materialize. It goes to the trouble of providing it and misrepresents the facts,” the brief said. It's dark.
“Congress's unprecedented attempt to single out petitioners and prohibit them from operating the nation's most important speaking venue is highly unconstitutional,” the brief continued.
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