TikTok's Legal Battle Reaches Supreme Court: National Security vs. Free Speech

The U.S. Department of Justice requests the Supreme Court reject Trump’s delay of a law banning TikTok or enforcing its sale by Jan. 19. The law requires ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. assets due to security concerns. TikTok seeks to block the law on free-speech grounds.

The U.S. Department of Justice has petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump's request to postpone a law that would necessitate TikTok's ban or sale by January 19. Trump argues for more time to achieve a political resolution following his inauguration on January 20.

This April, legislation mandated TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. assets or face a ban. The DOJ contends that ByteDance has not demonstrated a likelihood of success, emphasizing the national security threat posed by China's control of TikTok through ByteDance.

Trump's attorney seeks a delay to pursue a political resolution, while TikTok argues for a block based on the First Amendment. Without action, TikTok downloads would stop on January 19, with existing services degrading over time, but Biden could possibly extend the deadline.

(With inputs from agencies.)