President-elect Donald Trump has intervened in the high-stakes battle for the destiny of TikTok in the United States, pushing the Supreme Court to postpone a statute that would prohibit the social media platform if it is not sold by its Chinese parent firm. Trump stated that the court should give him time after his January 20 inauguration to “seek a negotiated resolution” of the dispute. He did not take a clear stance on the validity of the bill, which goes into force on January 19, but he did express “sweeping and troubling” worries about free expression. Trump told the justices that only he has “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.”

The court is hearing the case on a highly expedited timeline, with arguments scheduled for a special session Jan. 10, little more than a week before the law is to take effect. The case pits company and user First Amendment rights against national security interests.

Breathing Space Trump stated that a pause would offer “breathing space for the court to consider the questions on a more measured schedule.” His filing came after TikTok and President Joe Biden’s administration each submitted written arguments on Friday. The Biden-led Justice Department stated that Chinese control over TikTok poses “grave national-security threats.” The platform “harvests sensitive data about tens of millions of Americans and would be a potent tool for covert influence operations by a foreign adversary,” according to US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer. Meanwhile, TikTok informed the judges that Congress neglected to examine alternatives to a prohibition. “History and precedent teach that, even when national security is at stake, speech bans must be Congress’s last resort,” according to the business.

‘Warm Spot’ Trump previously favoured a TikTok ban, but he has spoken more positively about the app in recent days. He stated earlier this month that he had a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok since it helped him win over young voters in the November election. This month, he met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club, as part of a series of meetings with major internet CEOs. During his first term, Trump stated that he was willing to sell TikTok to a US corporation, but that the federal government would receive a part of the total sale price for facilitating the transaction. If the bill goes into force, Trump’s opinion may have an impact on how it is implemented.

His filing Friday suggested sympathy with the free speech arguments presented by the company and TikTok users. The law “may set a dangerous global precedent by exercising the extraordinary power to shut down an entire social-media platform based, in large part, on concerns about disfavored speech on that platform,” Trump said in a filing submitted by John Sauer, whom the president-elect has tapped to become his solicitor general. A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the law on a 3-0 vote this month, saying Congress and the president are entitled to a wide berth when they make national security determinations. The law is also being challenged by a group of content creators. The cases are TikTok v. Garland, 24-656, and Firebaugh v. Garland, 24-657.