TikTok asks Supreme Court to block 'TikTok Ban Law,' President-elect Trump says he will 'watch over it warmly'

The social media app TikTok has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an injunction against the so-called TikTok Ban Act. If the injunction is not granted, the law will go into effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025.

TikTok asks Supreme Court to block law that could ban popular app

If the 'TikTok Ban Act,' also known as the 'Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act,' were to be enacted, TikTok's operator ByteDance, which is a Chinese company, would be required to sell its business or suspend service. For this reason, TikTok has filed an objection to the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which provides for 'freedom of expression.'

However, on December 6, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law was not unconstitutional. TikTok decided to appeal.

'TikTok is today asking the Supreme Court to do what it has done in previous free speech cases -- apply the strictest scrutiny and conclude that the law violates the First Amendment,' TikTok spokesman Michael Hughes said in a statement about the petition.

Before the presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump's stance on TikTok was that 'there are national security concerns and it should be banned,' but since then he has been vague, and during the presidential election he said, 'TikTok can be saved.' When asked about the law recently, he said, 'I'm watching TikTok warmly.'

Trump is believed to have met with TikTok CEO Chou Shouzi at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida on Monday, December 16th.