The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will hear ByteDance and TikTok’s challenge to a law that would ban the social network in the U.S. unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership by January 19. On January 10, the Supreme Court justices will hear arguments about whether the sell-or-ban law violates the First Amendment. It is unknown how quickly the court will come to a decision.
The two companies asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block the law. Last week, ByteDance and TikTok filed an emergency motion asking an appeals court to temporarily block the law in order to give the Supreme Court a chance to assess the case.
“We’re pleased with today’s Supreme Court order,” said TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes in a statement to TechCrunch. “We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights.”
The social network may also get a lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to save TikTok. It’s worth noting that TikTok CEO Shou Chew reportedly met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
