TikTok US Photo: VCG

US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban TikTok or force its sale, claiming that he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue, according to Reuters.

In a 25-page amicus brief filed with the court published on the court's website, Trump asked the justices to stay the January 19 deadline -- which is one day before Inauguration Day -- so his administration could "negotiate a resolution" that would "obviate the need" for the justices to rule on the case.

"President Trump 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 — concerns which President Trump himself has acknowledged," the brief stated.

Trump indicated on December 22 that he favored allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US for at least a little while, claiming that he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign, according to Reuters report. 

The President-elect met with TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi at the Mar-a-Lago resort on December 16, according to reports of multiple US media outlets including CNN. 

Earlier in the day, Trump said during a news conference that he is "taking a look at it" when asked if he plans to stop the ban on TikTok, and claimed that he has "a warm spot" in his heart for TikTok, pointing to his electoral performance among young voters earlier.

The US Supreme Court on December 18 agreed to review a request from TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to block a law that would require the sale of the popular video-sharing app by January 19, or face a ban on national security grounds, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The US top court are set to hear arguments on January 10 regarding whether the law unconstitutionally limits freedom of speech, in breach of the First Amendment.

Global Times