Lily Jamali, North America Technology correspondent , Natalie Sherman, business reporter, & Liv McMahon
The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a law that bans TikTok in the US over national security concerns unless its China-based parent company sells the platform ahead of a 19 January deadline.
The Court's nine justices heard from lawyers representing TikTok, and content creators that the ban would be a violation of free speech protections for the platform's more than 170 million users in the US.
The US government argued that without a sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
A decision by the top court has to be made within days. President-elect Donald Trump - who returns to the White House in just over a week - now argues against the ban.
The law requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell it in the US or cease operations on 19 January. The company has said it will not sell the short-form video platform.
Congress passed the law with support from both the Democratic and Republican parties - a moment that marked the culmination of years of concern about the widely popular platform, which is known for its viral videos and traction among young people.
The legislation does not forbid use of the app, but would require tech giants such as Apple and Google to stop offering it and inhibit updates, which analysts suggest would kill it over time.
TikTok has repeatedly denied any potential influence by the Chinese Communist Party and has said the law violates the First Amendment free speech rights of its users.
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