Washington-Perplexity AI has submitted a brand new proposal to the parent company of Tiktok, which might enable the US government to have as much as 50 % of a brand new company perplexed With Tikkok's US business, such an individual accustomed to the matter.

The proposal submitted last week is a revision of A previous plan The startup for artificial intelligence had made an application to Tikok's parent company bytedance on January 18, the day before the law got here into force.

The first proposal that Bytance didn’t react geared toward making a recent structure that may merge the Perplexity based in San Francisco with Tiktok's US business and include investments from other investors.

The recent proposal would enable the US government to have as much as half of this recent structure as soon because it conducts an IPO value a minimum of $ 300 billion, said the one who was not authorized to speak in regards to the proposal. The person said that Perplexity's proposal was revised on the idea of the feedback from the Trump administration.

If the plan is successful, the shares in state property don’t have any voting rights, the person said. The government would also not receive a seat on the board of the brand new company.

Bytedance and Tiktok didn’t immediately reply to a request for a comment.

According to the plan, bytedance wouldn’t must completely cancel the connections to Tiktok, which can be a positive result for its investors. But the person said that it should enable “complete control of the US board”.

As a part of the proposal, the Tikok US business based in China would usher in without the proprietary algorithm who drives what users see within the app, in response to a document that the associated press is present.

The proposal seems to reflect a technique that Steven Mnuchin, finance minister during Trump's first term, discussed on Sunday in this system “Sunday Morning Futures” by Fox News – that a brand new investor in Tiktok could simply “water down” Chinese property and to satisfy the law . Mnuchin has previously been taken with an investment in the corporate.

“But the technology has to be decoupled from China,” he added. “Bytedance should be separated. There is totally no way that China would ever allow us to do something like this in China. “

The perplexity proposal comes because several investors have expressed interest in Tikkok. President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he would expect an agreement within 30 days.

To A flight from Las Vegas to Miami with the Air Force OneHowever, Trump also said that he had not talked about a deal with Larry Ellison, CEO of the software manufacturer Oracle a report that Oracle, together with external investors, is considering taking over the worldwide operation of Tiktok.

“Numerous people talk to me. “Very substantial people,” said Trump. “We are very interested in it and the United States will be a big beneficiary. … I would only do it if the United States benefit from it. “

According to a non -partisan law that was adopted last yr, Tiktok must be banned within the United States until January 19 if the connection to Bytance didn’t stop. The Supreme Court confirmed the law, but Trump then issued an order to suspend the law for 75 days.

Trump noticed in Air Force One that Ellison lived “directly on the street” from his property in Mar-A-Lago, but added: “I never spoke to Larry about Tiktok.” I talked to many individuals about TikTok and Interest in Tiktok is great. “

Tiktok briefly switched off In the USA a week ago, but went online again after Trump said that he would postpone the ban. Shou Chew, CEO from Tikkok, took part in Trump's inauguration on January 20, together with some other technology leaders who have linked more friendly relationships with the new government.

The congress voted for a ban on Tikkok within the United States because he feared that the Tikok owners' structure was a security risk. For months, the bidet government argued that it was an excessive amount of risk to permit a Chinese company to manage the algorithm who drives what people see within the app. Officials also expressed concerns in regards to the user data collected on the platform.

So far, nevertheless, the United States has not submitted any public evidence that TikKOK will pass on user data to Chinese authorities or allows them to tinker with its algorithm.

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Originally published: January 26, 2025 at 12:42 p.m. PST

Elon Musk

Larry Ellison

Big players, serious money

Mrbeast

“The People's Offer for Tiktok”

Refugee TikTok fled by the tens of millions to RedNote, a Chinese app, in response to the TikTok ban that went into effect on January 19, 2025. The company Quit the app just before midnight on January 18th.

With cat memes, shared jokes concerning the ban, and honest conversations about normally avoided topics, former TikTokers and RedNote natives are bridging the years of digital divide between the U.S. and China. This spontaneous convergence is harking back to the Internet's original dream of a worldwide village. It is a beacon of hope for connection and communication in a divided world.

I’m a researcher who studies Chinese and transnational digital media. I’m also a Chinese living within the USA. I actually have been a RedNote user since 2014.

On Tuesday morning, January 14, 2025, my usual RedNote morning scroll revealed a modified “For You” page. Among my typical TV drama, celebrity and makeup content got here recent posts from self-proclaimed “TikTok refugees” with US IP addresses. As I scrolled further, the advice algorithm flooded my feed with increasingly of those posts from recent US users trying to rebuild their community on RedNote.

Rapid influx

The phenomenon exploded rapidly: inside 24 hours, the hashtag #TikTok Refugee# on RedNote had collected 36.2 million views and sparked tens of millions of discussions. RedNote took first place in Apple's App Store free app charts.

According to those TikTok refugees with the Jan. 19, 2025, Board of Directors threatensUsers feared losing not only their platform access but in addition their content Income streams in addition to.

Instead of switching to US-based alternatives like Metas Instagram or X, they decided to flee to a different Chinese platform Protest against it US tech giants they blamed Lobbying for the ban. Her platform of alternative was RedNote.

This unexpected change mostly stems from TikTok influencers like @whattheish I like to recommend RedNote as the brand new TikTok. Given that the Douyin app is China's version of TikTok, the move to RedNote could appear surprising. However, most other Chinese apps, including Douyin, are only available in Chinese app stores and require Chinese phone numbers to register. RedNote is exclusively accessible to users outside of China through app stores in various regions, without the necessity for a Chinese phone number.

Instead of separating users by geographic region with different versions, as TikTok's parent company ByteDance Ltd. has done, RedNote – called Xiaohongshu in Chinese – offers access to the identical platform worldwide. ByteDance is predicated in China but has launched TikTok as a US subsidiary in 2015. TikTok partnered with Oracle in 2022 to process Americans' user data Address data security concerns. In contrast, RedNote owner is Xingyin Information Technology Ltd a Shanghai-based company and thus stays free from direct US supervision.

RedNote's global accessibility

This global accessibility is according to Xiaohongshu's original vision. The name Little Red Book – its literal English translation – often leads people within the West to this Draw parallels to Mao's revolutionary textsuggesting a communist focus. But the true demands of the platform couldn’t be more different.

The app, created in 2013was created with a more bourgeois orientation. The app's founders, Qu Fang and Mao Wenchao, met while shopping In the US, they positioned Xiaohongshu as a platform that mixes social media, lifestyle content and e-commerce about global travel and shopping.

Although RedNote has evolved to appeal to a broader demographic, its primary user base stays international students, overseas Chinese communities, and international travelers. The name illustrates the platform's promise to be a “red” – meaning “popular” in Chinese – guide to foreign travel and shopping. It acts as each a travel bible for Chinese tourists and a fashion curator of glamorous foreign lifestyles.

The app has been instrumental in transforming lesser-known places to Chinese tourist destinations. It turned Düsseldorf into a destination for foodies for Chinese tourists in 2023 and illuminated trendy scenes and public toilets in Paris through the 2024 Olympics.

For me, as a Chinese native living abroad, RedNote has grow to be an important each day platform to go looking reviews, share life moments, and stay connected with Chinese communities. Even before the influx of TikTok refugees, Xiaohongshu had attracted users from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and other Chinese-speaking communities.

From memes to open dialogues

I nervously lurked within the discussion sections, alert for possible tensions and conflicts between TikTok refugees and RedNote natives, or “red yams” as they call themselves. But the primary encounters were surprisingly heartwarming and playful.

Following word of mouth, TikTok newbies began posting cat pictures as their first step after opening recent accounts. They jokingly call it paying their cat tax. Chinese RedNote users responded with compliments or by sharing their very own cat photos in return. This is how they broke the ice despite language and cultural barriers.

When TikTok refugees posted ideas without pets, RedNote users responded with a meme: a cat with a gun and the caption, “Hello, I'm a spy. Show me your cat.” That joke quickly caught on. “Chinese spy” soon became one other way of claiming “Chinese friend.” TikTok refugees even asked, “Do you want to be my Chinese spy?” as a playful conversation starter.

Both groups ridiculed the TikTok ban with cute memes and funny jokes. They scoffed that the ban turns privacy issues into outdated narratives of Cold War rivalry and espionage, reasonably than treating them as common challenges of the digital age that each one people face together.

After these greetings, RedNote natives and TikTok refugees ceaselessly exchanged questions on various topics. Some of those topics fearful me because they might easily result in interruptions in conversation. For example, a TikTok refugee asked about LGBTQ life in China, and a RedNote native asked about incomes within the United States.

But reasonably than creating unpleasant tensions as feared, this exchange led to meaningful dialogue. Chinese users explained their questions on US income: They were curious because Chinese “American dreamers” – Chinese individuals who discuss moving to the US – often paint an exaggerated picture of American salaries and living standards. Americans were surprised to learn that while same-sex marriage stays illegal in China, town of Chengdu is taken into account “the”gay capital.”

Let's remember the lost promise of the Internet

As I documented these interactions, they grew and developed. What began as text discussions evolved into livestreamed conversations. This rare moment of direct interaction between American and Chinese social media users shows that they aren’t as different as they may have thought. Online, they shared the identical interests: cute memes, “Thirst traps” and funny comments. Offline, they need to struggle with similar problems day-after-day to make ends meet.

How could this end? Will the TikTok refugees leave once their enthusiasm wanes, or will regulators on each side step in? As someone who has spent years researching U.S.-China media exchanges, I’m struck by the importance of this moment, temporary as it could be. This represents a meaningful reconnection between U.S. and Chinese web users after years of digital separation.

This separation was caused and reinforced by Google's retreat from China, China's Great Firewall and the US forced the separation of ByteDance's US and Chinese platforms. In addition, digital platforms and advice algorithms are increasingly trapping people in their very own situation Information bubbles.

For me, this moment is harking back to the utopian vision that was once shared California's Internet Pioneers And Chinese technology innovators and adopters: digital now and global village.

It can be a vivid spot within the cloud of world divisions. Even in a world increasingly fractured by platforms, misinformation and political divisions, unexpected connections can still emerge. Seemingly inconceivable linguistic, cultural and digital barriers may be overcome when people treat one another with respect, sincerity and a touch of humor – and maybe with the assistance of AI translators.

By HALELUYA HADERO

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of TikTok users within the United States can not watch videos the social media platform as a nationwide ban on the hugely popular app comes into effect.

The company's app was faraway from popular app stores, including those of Apple and Google, on Saturday evening, while the web site told users that the short-video platform was not available. The blackout began just hours before the law got here into effect.

Users who opened the TikTok app on Saturday encountered a pop-up message that prevented them from scrolling videos that said “Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable.”

“A law has been passed in the US to ban TikTok,” the message said. “Unfortunately, this means you won’t be able to use TikTok for the time being.”

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reintroduce TikTok after he takes office,” the statement continued, referring to President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to relaunch the platform to “save”. The company urged its users to remain updated.

The only option the message offers US users is to shut the app or click an alternative choice that takes them to the platform's website. There, users will see the identical message and have the choice to download their data. According to TikTok, this motion can take days to process.

Before the announcement got here out, TikTok said in one other message to users that its service could be “temporarily unavailable” and that the corporate was working to revive its US service “as soon as possible.” But how long the platform will remain dark is unclear.

Apple said in an announcement on its website that the TikTok and ByteDance apps are not any longer available within the United States, while visitors to the country can have limited access. “Apple is committed to following the laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates,” the corporate said.

“If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device. However, they cannot be downloaded again if deleted or restored when moving to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible,” the statement said, adding that the change could impact performance, security and compatibility with future versions of iOS and iPadOS.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew posted a video thanking Trump for his commitment to working with the corporate to maintain the app available within the US and for his “strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.” .

“We are grateful and excited to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform. One who has used conversations to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connect with the world, and in the process generate more than 60 billion views of his content,” said Chew.

In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he was considering giving TikTok a 90-day extension to permit the corporate to proceed operating. Should such an extension occur, Trump – who once supported a TikTok ban – said it might “probably” be announced on Monday, the day he will likely be sworn in as president. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is predicted to be in attendance Trumps Inauguration with first-class seating.

In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials have long raised concerns in regards to the app, which they view as a national security threat due to its Chinese ownership. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based technology company that operates popular video editing apps CapCut and Lemon8, each of which were also unavailable Saturday evening.

Federal law required ByteDance to chop ties with TikTok by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. The bill was passed by Congress in April after being signed into law High priority $95 billion package which provided foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden I quickly signed itafter which TikTok and ByteDance quickly filed suit on First Amendment grounds.

While defending the law in court, the Biden administration argued it was concerned that TikTok could collect vast amounts of U.S. user data that would find yourself within the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.

Officials have also warned that the algorithm that drives what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to change content on the platform in ways which can be difficult to detect. However, thus far the US has not provided any public evidence that TikTok is sharing user data with Chinese authorities or tinkering with its algorithm to advance Chinese interests.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Friday that the national security risk posed by TikTok's ties to China outweighs concerns about restricting speech on the app or its 170 million users within the United States.

After TikTok's service stopped working, some in China criticized the US, accusing it of suppressing the favored app. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, said: “TikTok's announcement that it will suspend services in America marks the darkest moment in the evolution of the internet. “ .”

“A country that claims to have the greatest freedom of expression has carried out the most brutal suppression of an internet application,” said Hu, now a political commentator. TikTok does not operate in China, where ByteDance instead offers Douyin, TikTok's Chinese sibling, which follows Beijing's strict censorship rules.

After the court ruling, both White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Biden administration would leave implementation of the law to President-elect Donald Trump, as his inauguration falls on the day after the ban takes effect falls.

But TikTok said Friday evening that it will be “forced to stay silent” unless the government provides a “final explanation” to companies like Apple, Google and Oracle that offer their services in the United States

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok's demand a “stunt” and said there was no reason for TikTok or other companies to “take motion in the subsequent few days before the Trump administration takes office.” But despite these statements from the administration, confusion continued about what would happen until TikTok began blocking its service.

By law, mobile app stores are prohibited from offering TikTok and internet hosting services are prohibited from offering the service to American users. Violators can face fines of up to $5,000 for each user who continues to access TikTok. This means that the penalties that companies face if they continue to offer TikTok could amount to a large amount.

As it is written, experts say the law does not require TikTok to shut down its platform. It is therefore unclear whether the company turned it off voluntarily or whether it was unable to continue the service after losing access support from its technology providers. The company did not respond to questions asked this week about its plans.

The statue allows the sitting president to extend the deadline by 90 days if a sale is underway. However, there are no clear buyers, and ByteDance has previously stated that it will not sell TikTok.

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI on Saturday submitted a proposal to ByteDance to create a new entity that would merge Perplexity with TikTok's U.S. operations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Perplexity isn't about buying the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok users' videos based on their interests and has made the platform such a phenomenon.

Other investors have also been keeping an eye on TikTok. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O'Leary recently said a consortium of investors put together by him and billionaire Frank McCourt had offered ByteDance $20 billion in money. Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said last 12 months that he would put together a bunch of investors to purchase TikTok.

___

Associated Press author Kanis Leung contributed to this story from Hong Kong.

Originally published: January 18, 2025 at 8:00 pm PST

Waiting for Trump

technology

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's decision could come Friday within the case of whether TikTok ought to be shut down in a couple of days under a federal law designed to force its sale by the Chinese company that owns the social media platform utilized by 170 have to be tens of millions of individuals within the USA

The justices are weighing a free speech challenge to the law, which takes effect Sunday, against the national security concerns that led to its passage with broad bipartisan support last yr. A lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance, its Chinese owner, told the court last week that TikTok will “disappear” on Sunday unless judges grant it a short lived reprieve or strike down the law.

During court hearings, most judges appeared prone to follow the law.

In addition to the continuing court case, a possible lifeline for TikTok has emerged. President-elect Donald Trump, who once favored banning the app, is exploring ways to “preserve” TikTok, his recent national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, said in a television interview on Wednesday.

It's not clear what authority Trump has to intervene, although he could order the Justice Department to not implement the law, threatening sanctions against the tech corporations that make available and host the app.

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that justices will make a minimum of one decision on Friday, sticking to its habit of not saying which one. But it also deviated from standard practice in some ways, increasing expectations that it would be the TikTok case that might be passed on.

Except as its term nears the top of June, the court almost at all times makes its decisions on days when justices are scheduled to take a seat. The next scheduled court day is Tuesday.

And apart from the coronavirus pandemic, when the court was closed, the justices almost at all times read summaries of their opinions within the courtroom. They won't be there on Friday.

All opinions might be posted on the court's website starting shortly after 10 a.m. EST on Friday.

Three Bay Area high schools received grants from the National Parent-Teacher Association, funded by the social media platform TikTok, to assist teens and their families discuss digital safety.

The PTA organizations on the three schools — American High School in Fremont, Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco and the Oakland School for the Arts — each received $3,000 to determine a program called “Create with Kindness.” This would allow students and their parents or guardians to return together to speak about their experiences on social media and what sort of support they need.

TikTok has also put together a comprehensive toolkit of the platform's security tools and resources. The company's future within the United States is uncertain; A bill signed in April 2024 would ban the social media service by January 19 unless it separates from its China-based parent company. However, the Supreme Court agreed to listen to arguments on its constitutionality on Friday.

“This digital world is not going away, so we need to be proactive about how we deal with it,” said Yvonne Johnson, president of the National PTA. “Through this partnership with TikTok, we are working with them to educate families, bring them together, have open conversations, listen to teens, listen to parents and invent together.”

The grants may be utilized by PTA organizations to prepare events related to this system, equivalent to providing translation services, child care or meals. TikTok provided a complete of $300,000 for the grants, which were distributed to 100 local and regional PTAs in high schools across the country.

Ronald Taylor, head of Youth Safety Outreach and Partnerships at TikTok, said this system goals to assist bridge the knowledge gap between teenagers and their parents about social media. He said parents desired to know what safeguards were in place to guard their children and the way they may use them. On the opposite hand, Taylor said he has heard teens say they need more transparency about what deems certain content “volatile” in comparison with others.

Taylor said one in all the safety features they wish to promote is the “Family Pairing” feature, which allows an adult to pair their TikTok account with their child's account to observe their use of the app, including their searches . Taylor highlighted TikTok's efforts to advertise secure use of its platform, equivalent to through standard safety features that direct people looking for potentially harmful content to links to assist centers to discourage teens from viewing inappropriate content.

When asked if there are concerns about censorship around race, gender and sexuality on the platform resulting from parental oversight features, Taylor said TikTok is designed to “really facilitate that conversation between teens and adults in their lives” and The program focuses on modeling these conversations and providing support.

“Working with the National PTA and listening to the experiences of teens and parents is critical to helping build safe platforms,” Taylor said. “That’s really the biggest thing that I think is the most important takeaway from our work; It’s really about putting youth at the center as experts in their own experiences.”

Johnson said this system is a proactive effort to provide families the resources to have these conversations about digital safety and practice positive interactions online. She said the rules taught in these workshops could help parents ensure their children are usually not bullied online and are usually not exposed to content that shouldn’t be good for them. And while TikTok is the main focus of those events, Johnson said this recommendation may be applied across all social media platforms.

“We believe that when an individual family allows their teens to access an app or a platform like TikTok, it is so important that everyone in the household knows how to navigate this platform safely,” Johnson said.

Nick Cawthon, PTA president at Oakland School for the Arts, said they hope to attain a balanced perspective on social media, especially given the negative impact it might probably have on teenage girls. He said he hoped this system would also display how social media platforms may be used for good and illustrate the potential pitfalls that arise from interacting with these platforms.

Mugdha Ghole, PTA president at American High School, said her organization plans to carry a “Create with Kindness” event during lunchtime sometime in February or March. She said they plan to ask psychologists to their event and offer refreshments to encourage students and their families to attend.

Valerie Vitullo, PTA president at Abraham Lincoln High School, said she connects along with her children by sharing videos on TikTok. And while she said her children have never needed to take care of greater than an inappropriate direct message that was easily blocked and ignored, she said she's looking forward to this system to see how other parents interact with their children and social media interact.

“If parents know how these programs work, we will be better prepared,” Vitullo said.

All three PTA presidents said they hope to host their “Create with Kindness” events by March, but each TikTok creators and users have concerns a few possible ban. President-elect Donald Trump has signaled his opposition to the measure signed by President Joe Biden.

Vitullo said she was concerned that banning TikTok can be a violation of free speech.

“We need access to information. “We see things on TikTok and Instagram that we don’t see in mainstream media,” Vitullo said. “With a TikTok ban, we will be much more disconnected from each other and we will not be able to consciously share ideas and educate each other about what is happening in anything, be it political, social, our health, our lives and mental well-being. “

Still, Vitullo said her PTA chapter is still planning the “Create with Kindness” event.

“I hope it will be a success. I hope the parents and students we present this to get a lot out of it,” she said. “It’s important to have that kind of connection with your children.”

Originally published: January 9, 2025 at 6:15 am PST

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The law that could ban TikTok comes before the Supreme Court on Friday, with the justices keeping the app's fate largely of their hands.

The popular social media platform says the law violates the First Amendment and ought to be repealed.

TikTok's parent company relies in Chinaand the US government says meaning it’s a potential threat to national security. Chinese authorities could force them at hand over sensitive data concerning the large variety of Americans who use it or influence the distribution of data on the platform, they are saying.

An appeals court has upheld the law banning TikTok unless it’s sold.

The law is about to take effect on January 19, a day before the beginning of the brand new term of President-elect Donald Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on the platform. The Republican says he desires to “save TikTok.”

Here are some vital things to know concerning the case:

Is TikTok banned?

Not now, however the short video sharing app may very well be shut down in lower than two weeks if the Supreme Court upholds the law.

Congress passed the measure with bipartisan support, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, signed it into law in April.

TikTok's lawyers have challenged the law in court, together with users and content creators who say a ban would result in this turn their livelihoods the other way up. According to TikTok, the national security concerns are based on inaccurate and hypothetical information.

But a unanimity Court of Appeals The law consists of judges appointed by each Republican and Democratic presidents.

When will the Supreme Court resolve?

The judges will make a call quickly after discussions on Friday Movement in response to judicial standards.

The conservative-majority court could drop hints about its stance during oral arguments.

TikTok's lawyers urged judges to intervene before the law takes effect, saying even a month-long shutdown would cause the app to lose a couple of third of its each day American users and significant promoting revenue.

The court could quickly block the law from taking effect before issuing a final ruling if not less than five of the nine justices find it unconstitutional.

What did Trump say about that?

The law is scheduled to take effect on January 19, someday before Trump takes office as president.

He took the weird step Filing Court Documents He is asking the Supreme Court to place the law on hold so he can negotiate a deal to sell TikTok after he takes office. His position was the newest example of his interference in national affairs before taking office. It was also a change from his last term as president, when he desired to ban it.

Parent company ByteDance had previously said it had no plans to sell. Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, last month.

Who else weighs in?

Free speech advocacy groups comparable to the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have asked the court to dam the law, saying the federal government has failed to supply credible evidence of harm and that a ban would cause “extraordinary disruption” within the lives of Americans.

On the opposite hand, Senator Mitch McConnell, the previous Republican Senate leader, and a gaggle of twenty-two states have filed briefs in support, arguing that the law protects free speech by protecting Americans' data and stopping possible manipulation of Information on the platform prevented by Chinese authorities.

Originally published: January 10, 2025 at 4:18am PST

policy

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to suspend the entry into force of the potential TikTok ban until his administration can pursue a “political solution” to the issue.

The request got here as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs with the court wherein the corporate argued that the court should strike down a law that would ban the platform by January 19, while the administration emphasized its position that the law a national security risk is needed for abolition.

“President Trump takes no position on the merits of this dispute. Instead, “he respectfully requests that the Court consider suspending the statute’s January 19, 2025 divestiture deadline while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus transient, which isn’t a celebration to the case Case supported and authored by D. John Sauer, Trump's pick for attorney general.

The argument presented to the court is the most recent example of Trump meddling in national issues before taking office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and earlier this month he intervened in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for the rejection of a bipartisan plan and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.

As he assembles his government, he has held meetings with foreign leaders and business representatives at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, including a gathering last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

Trump has modified his stance on the favored app after attempting to ban it on national security grounds during his first term. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign, and his team used it to have interaction with younger voters, particularly male voters, by distributing content that was often macho and aimed toward going viral.

He said earlier this 12 months that he still believes TikTok poses national security risks but that he opposes a ban.

Friday's filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law requiring TikTok to separate from its China-based parent company or face a ban unlawfully restricts speech and subsequently violates the previous Constitutional amendment violates. The law was signed by President Joe Biden in April after passing Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance then filed a lawsuit.

Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the law, prompting TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Trump's transient said he opposes a ban on TikTok at this juncture and “seeks the opportunity to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”

In their letter to the Supreme Court on Friday, lawyers for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued that the federal appeals court erred in its decision and based its decision on “alleged 'risks' of China pressuring the U.S. platform.” “TikTok could exercise control over TikTok’s US platform.” foreign subsidiaries.

The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its ties to China. Officials say Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to release details about TikTok's U.S. customers or use the platform to spread or suppress information.

But the federal government “acknowledges that it has no evidence that China has ever made such an attempt,” TikTok’s legal filings say, adding that the U.S. fears are based on future risks.

In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said TikTok's corporate structure creates risks because TikTok is “integrated with ByteDance and relies on its proprietary engine developed and maintained in China.”