US President-elect Donald Trump will face immediate challenges upon taking his oath of office on Monday. On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a federal law mandating that the popular social media platform TikTok must divest from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, by Sunday or face a ban. The court dismissed TikTok’s claim that the law infringed upon the First Amendment rights of the platform and its content creators. ByteDance’s legal representatives indicated that the app would cease operations on Sunday.
Trump had requested the court to postpone the deadline until he assumed office, allowing him time to negotiate a potential resolution. As president, he is obligated to ensure that laws are enforced faithfully, which includes upholding this statute.
The ban, which received significant bipartisan support and was enacted by President Joe Biden in April, aims to safeguard the private data of US users from foreign threats.
During his previous term, Trump issued an executive order that prohibited ByteDance from conducting financial transactions in the US, citing national security risks due to the app’s extensive data collection practices and its potential use by the Chinese government. However, those sanctions were stalled in court and did not take effect before Congress enacted the current law.
As Trump prepares for his return to the White House, he appears to have shifted his stance. Just prior to the law’s passage, he publicly opposed the ban, leading some critics to suggest he was attempting to gain favor with billionaire donor Jeffrey Yass, who holds a 15 percent stake in ByteDance.
As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office on Monday, he will encounter significant challenges right from the start. On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a federal law that requires TikTok, the widely used social media app, to divest from its parent company, ByteDance, based in China, by Sunday or face a ban. The court rejected TikTok’s assertion that the law violated the First Amendment rights of the platform and its creators. According to ByteDance’s attorneys, the app will be rendered inoperative on Sunday.
Trump had urged the court to extend the deadline until he officially took office, which would provide him with an opportunity to negotiate a solution. As the incoming president, he is responsible for ensuring that laws are executed properly, which includes enforcing this particular statute.
The ban, which garnered substantial bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Joe Biden in April, was implemented to protect the private data of US citizens from foreign adversaries.
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order that barred ByteDance from engaging
