US top court agrees to hear TikTok bid to halt ban

The US Supreme Court will hear a petition by TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban on national security grounds.

The justices did not immediately act on an emergency petition by TikTok and ByteDance, as well as some of its users who post content on the social media platform, for an injunction to halt the looming ban, opting instead to hear arguments on the matter on Jan. 10.

The challengers are appealing a lower court’s ruling that upheld the law. TikTok is used by about 170 million Americans.

TikTok on Wednesday said it was pleased the court will take up the issue. “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 company said.