WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause a federal TikTok law that would ban the popular social media app or force its sale, with the Republican US President-elect arguing that he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.

TikTok and its owner ByteDance are fighting to keep the popular app online in the United States after Congress voted in April to ban it unless the app's Chinese parent company sells it by Jan 19.

They have sought to have the law struck down, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

But if the court does not rule in ByteDance's favour and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the United States on Jan 19, one day before Trump takes office.

"This case presents an unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other," Trump said in a filing on Dec 27.

Related

---