Let's make a deal Trump told SCOTUS he plans to make a deal to save TikTok TikTok ban could be delayed, if consummate dealmaker Trump gets his way. Ashley Belanger Dec 30, 2024 11:31 am | 85 Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIn the weeks before Donald Trump takes office, he has moved to delay a nationwide TikTok ban from taking effect until he has a chance to make a deal on his own terms that he believes could allow TikTok to continue operating in the US without posing a national security threat.On Friday, Trump's lawyer filed a brief, urging the Supreme Court to stay enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that would either ban TikTok on January 19 or force TikTok to sell the company to prevent China's alleged covert control of content on the app.The Supreme Court had previously denied TikTok's request for an injunction that would have delayed enforcement until Trump takes office, instead planning to rush a decision on whether the Act violates the First Amendment before the deadline hits.But Trump insisted that the complex question at issue in the case requires "measured consideration" and is precisely the sort of decision that the Supreme Court should never rush. Not only must the court weigh TikTok and American content creators' First Amendment concerns, but also Trump's questions about whether the Act is possibly "legislative encroachment" that "binds the hands" of an incoming President who otherwise is responsible for decisions on national security and foreign policy, Trump argued.According to Trump, he's not taking sides and offers no comments on the merits of the case. But in September, he promised voters that he would "save TikTok," and currently, he "opposes banning TikTok in the United States."If Trump gets his way, the Supreme Court will delay the TikTok ban until he has a chance to "resolve the dispute through political means." He claimed that President Joe Biden signing a law that takes effect a day before his administration starts was "unfortunate timing" and that he "alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government."It's possible, Trump claimed, that his potential "negotiated resolution" could even remove the need for SCOTUS to ever weigh the merits of the TikTok case.Senators agreed law triggering TikTok ban is "illegitimate"Many have questioned how Trump got from attempting to ban TikTok during his prior administration to suddenly posturing as TikTok's savior. In his brief, Trump explained that, "to be sure," the national security concerns about China's alleged control over TikTok "appear to be significant and pressing."But it should be up to Trump to decide how to manage America's "ever-evolving relationship with one of its most challenging geopolitical rivals," he said.And after seeing Brazil ban X (formerly Twitter) for a month and the aftermath of other social media censorship scandals, Trump is now seemingly alarmed that Congress has dictated that he must shut down TikTok. That's a problem, he argued, because the app is not only a preferred platform for over 170 million users, including "ordinary" Americans, but also is a key destination for political campaigning, which counts among the "most urgent" speech that the First Amendment protects.Several members of Congress Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)filed a brief agreeing that "the TikTok ban does not survive First Amendment scrutiny." They agreed with TikTok that the law is "illegitimate."Lawmakers' "principle justification" for the ban"preventing covert content manipulation by the Chinese government"masked a "desire" to control TikTok content, they said. Further, it could be achieved by a less-restrictive alternative, they said, a stance which TikTok has long argued for.Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the Act, though, urging SCOTUS to remain laser-focused on the question of whether a forced sale of TikTok that would seemingly allow the app to continue operating without impacting American free speech violates the First Amendment. If the court agrees that the law survives strict scrutiny, TikTok could still be facing an abrupt shutdown in January.The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments to begin on January 10. TikTok and content creators who separately sued to block the law have asked for their arguments to be divided, so that the court can separately weigh "different perspectives" when deciding how to approach the First Amendment question.In its own brief, TikTok has asked SCOTUS to strike the portions of the law singling out TikTok or "at the very least" explain to Congress that "it needed to do far better work either tailoring the Acts restrictions or justifying why the only viable remedy was to prohibit Petitioners from operating TikTok."But that may not be necessary if Trump prevails. Trump told the court that TikTok was an important platform for his presidential campaign and that he should be the one to make the call on whether TikTok should remain in the USnot the Supreme Court."As the incoming Chief Executive, President Trump has a particularly powerful interest in and responsibility for those national-security and foreign-policy questions, and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means," Trump's brief said.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 85 Comments