The Supreme Court on Friday will hear oral arguments about a U.S. law requiring TikTok to either divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be banned from operating in the U.S. It’s a heavily followed case that pits national security concerns against free speech protections for millions of Americans.
The court agreed in December to hold an expedited hearing on the case, giving it just nine days to decide whether to uphold TikTok’s request to halt or delay the ban passed by Congress before it takes effect Jan. 19.
It is unlikely the court will take that long, however, and justices are expected to issue a ruling or order in a matter of days.
The case comes as TikTok continues to be one of the most popular social media apps in the U.S. with an estimated 170 million users nationwide.
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President-elect Trump has also signaled support for the app, putting the case further into the national spotlight in the final weeks before his inauguration.
Ahead of Friday’s oral arguments, here’s what to know about the arguments and how the Supreme Court might act.
A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in Suqian, Jiangsu province, China. (CFOTO/Sipa USA)
TikTok arguments, alleged free speech violations
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are urging the court to either block or delay the enforcement of a law Congress passed with bipartisan backing in April.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act gave TikTok nine months to either divest from its Chinese parent company or be…
