TikTok asks Supreme Court to block law that could ban the app

Social media company TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to stop a law that would ban on the app in the United States unless its parent company ByteDance sells the platform ahead of next month's deadline.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., recently upheld the law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in April, and declined to issue a temporary injunction on the matter while the appeal process played out. If ByteDance lines up a buyer by Jan. 19, Biden could approve a one-time extension of up to 90 days for the sale.

The ban comes amid concerns that the app could operate as an extension of the Chinese government, because ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. But the company has strongly denied being "owned or controlled by any government or state-controlled entity."

Lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law’s Jan. 19 deadline, and argued that a shutdown of the app for even a month would cause the platform to lose about a third of its daily users in the U.S. and significant advertising revenue, according to the Associated Press.

The request will first go to Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees emergency appeals from Washington, D.C., who is then expected to open the matter to the other justices.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to "save" the social media app, which has about 170 million users.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.