MoviesNewsTalk
Former President Donald J. Trump made efforts to halt the potential TikTok ban set for January 19 by submitting a brief to the Supreme Court this Friday demonstrating the 45th president of the United States evolving views towards social media application. Trump opposed TikTok in 2020 for alleged national security concerns but currently describes the social media app as a unique medium for freedom of expression displaying a completely reversed opinion of past statements.
Trump now challenges the current ban on TikTok as his legal brief asks the Supreme Court to postpone its implementation to explore options to safeguard the platform. A law passed by the House with bipartisan support and signed by current President Biden mandates that ByteDance TikTok's parent company needs to divest from its Chinese affiliations or receive a United States ban citing threats to national security because of extensive user tracking. Trump who has become a very popular user on TikTok reaching over 14.7 million followers now publicly backs the apps access after years of publicly stating concerns regarding its usage. This dramatic reversal comes after becoming a highly influential political figure on the application himself.
Many TikTok creators prepare to cope with the uncertainty of the application shut down if the court doesn't stop the law requiring ownership from a non-Chinese entity. These content creators have found much success on the platform and also use the service as the main source of their individual incomes. Cora Lakey for example left her corporate job in October to become a full-time TikToker who now experiences concerns after initial success with her online platforming efforts on the application . TikTok platform's future status leaves influencers across all social sectors feeling worried after having the application as a major tool for communication.
Nicol Turner Lee from the Brookings Institution mentioned a shutdown may create an estimated loss of 1.3 billion dollars in revenue for both creators and United States small business in merely a month showing possible future ripple effects in the digital economy. Many content creators have also raised concerns that female content creators have disproportionately much to lose as a large proportion of influencer base on these platforms are women and therefore are economically exposed more than others. Anna Vatuone coaches people on personal brand building online that also depends upon the service for reaching audiences. Ralph Tyndall also uses TikTok for content creating after quitting his previous job as a tech professional while connecting with millions of card making fans online and this illustrates that communities with very specific interests thrive through TikTok.
President Trump's amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court on Friday January 20 2025 pushes for intervention in whether TikTok can operate in America based upon national security and constitutional grounds regarding First Amendment Rights stating that he should be the person deciding the outcome due to complexities involving US national security and citizen rights. Trump emphasizes his need to explore political negotiations to address national security concerns linked with the application. Incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung released an official statement emphasizing Trumps's need to preserve both national security while safeguarding TikToks popular platform status for millions of American content creators as he is the "soon to be the 47th president of United States”.
The Supreme Court is set to begin oral arguments on the TikTok case January 10 demonstrating how soon the legal matter will play out as part of a fast-tracked process. Lawmakers argue that the application collects personal user information and risks Chinese influence from the government creating national security issues. TikTok has always claimed its US operations to be run independently and does not use user data for governmental purposes citing its adherence to US guidelines with ‘Project Texas’ spending millions to provide secure user data storage within the U.S. infrastructure.
Former Justice Department attorney Alan Rozenshtein provided additional perspectives to Vox in case the Supreme Court upholds ban noting potential areas President Trump can influence the outcome such as getting Congress to reverse law however the existing bipartisan nature of law might make it incredibly hard to accomplish. Rozenshtein mentioned Trump can also direct his own attorney general to ignore enforcement of the law which he considers his constitutional authority as incoming president yet companies will still be at legal risk with that specific plan due to outstanding laws and therefore can not solely rely on White House communication via Truth Social. Also Rozenshtein mentioned there was a clause in law which specifies divesting which could be legally read to give President considerable leverage to interpret in Trumps favor even in the absence of a formal sale or legal agreement.
Rozenshtein suggested possible parties who can litigate cases against Trump’s statements are companies that could be impacted such as Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg who owns Instagram Reels but such powerful individuals may find a law suit against an incoming president to be unideal. Also Oracle along with Apple could file suits to clarify legal interpretations on law from administration however this approach has risks including upsetting sitting President if lawsuit is successful causing a challenge of interpretations and therefore further problems. Courts according to Rozenshtein could possibly strike down Trumps claims should a divestiture declaration be obviously fraudulent with his team only going through motions to achieve specific outcomes.
The TikTok application would continue functioning on devices according to Rozenshtein who highlights an issue regarding Oracle servers responsible for handling TikTok operations that the company will likely turn off to comply with United States law however TikTok would make moves to operate by using other services in the event such event were to actually occur. Also updates to the application would possibly cease unless Trump provides further actions through legislation or interpretations to allow an entity to assume responsibility . The legal opinions highlight the incredibly complex framework and legal ramifications of all involved actors regarding future options for the service.
Supreme Court scheduled to hold oral arguments January 10 with deadline set on January 19 which is the day before incoming President Trumps office which does not allow an extension in law according to Rozenshtein leaving no clear answers for resolution to the dispute. The justices face an extraordinary case with high stakes for the future of the popular video platform across America and its estimated 170 million plus daily users with significant consequences with interpretations depending on the outcome of legal considerations.
Trump has continued to state through multiple outlets that he possesses great expertise for creating deals plus electoral mandate to effectively deal with ongoing issue. Trump mentions a plan of action by saying ‘"President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office." The various perspectives illustrate a highly complex issue involving not only user rights and the role of a social media company however with greater issues involving political and governmental oversight of large scale tech platforms. Fox News journalist Brooke Singman stated that the application ‘Project Texas’ by TikTok also has a significant monetary expense and therefore requires significant governmental collaboration and intervention to properly work effectively if further action were required by incoming administration