US Justice Department opposes Trump's plan to 'save' TikTok

The US Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to reject President-elect Donald Trump's request to delay the implementation of the law banning the social networking app TikTok or force ByteDance to sell the app by January 19.

The law, which was passed in April 2024, requires ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest its US-based platform or face a ban.

According to the US government, China's control of TikTok through ByteDance is a serious threat to national security: TikTok collects a large amount of sensitive data on 170 million Americans, making the app a powerful tool for espionage.

TikTok has not commented on the Justice Department's move.

Last week, Mr. Trump filed a legal brief, arguing that he needs time after taking office on January 20 to find a “political solution” to the issue. The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on January 10.

TikTok on January 3 called on the Supreme Court to block the law on the grounds of freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The company said the US Congress has not sought to ban Chinese-owned apps like Shein or Temu.

TikTok said this clearly shows “they targeted TikTok for its social media content, not its data.”

If the court doesn't block the law by January 19, new users won't be able to download TikTok from Apple or Google's app stores, but existing users will still be able to continue accessing the app.

Services on this app will degrade over time and eventually stop working as companies will be banned from providing support services.

President Joe Biden could extend the deadline by another 90 days if he confirms ByteDance is making significant progress on divestment.

Mr Trump's support for TikTok is a change of stance from 2020, when he tried to block the app in the US over national security concerns.