TikTok urges Supreme Court to stop impending ban just days before it takes effect

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Friday morning over whether the social media platform TikTok should be required to divest from its Chinese-owned parent company or be banned in the U.S., in a highly watched case that pits concerns over national security against free speech protections.

At issue is the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or a law Congress passed last April that gave TikTok nine months to either divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be removed from U.S. app stores and hosting services. 

Lawyers for TikTok will argue that the law, which forces the choice of either divestiture or being banned, is a violation of First Amendment protections. They will also make the case that lawmakers failed to consider less-restrictive alternatives before jumping to an outright ban.

The Biden administration, for its part, will argue that the law focuses solely on the company’s control of the app, which attorneys for the administration argue could pose “grave national security threats” to Americans rather than its content. 

Lawyers for the administration will also argue that Congress did not impose any restrictions on speech, much less any restrictions based on viewpoint or on content, and therefore fails to satisfy the test of free speech violations under the First Amendment. 

The court’s decision could have major ramifications for the roughly 170 million Americans who use the app. 

Justices agreed in December to hold the expedited hearing and will have just nine days to issue a ruling before the ban takes place on Jan. 19. 

Oral arguments begin at 10 a.m. Stay here for live updates as the oral arguments unfold.