TikTok will be in federal court on Monday, aiming to block a new law that will ban the popular video app in the United States early next year.
TikTok could be banned in the United States in mere months. Its lawyers head to court on Monday to fight that outcome, the latest stage in an ongoing clash between the short-form video app and the American government.
For years, TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have been under scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and intelligence officials for the app’s ties to China. They have argued in congressional hearings and in court filings that the app poses national security concerns because the Chinese government could use it to access sensitive information about Americans or to spread propaganda. They pushed a law, signed in April, that requires ByteDance to either sell the app to a non-Chinese owner or face a ban.
ByteDance and TikTok sued to block the law in May, and have said a ban would violate Americans’ free speech rights. They argue there are other less restrictive ways to address those security concerns. Federal judges will hear arguments from the two sides on Monday, in a hearing that could give a sense of which way the judges are leaning
The ruling is unlikely to be the final word on TikTok’s future, or that of its 170 million U.S. users. Legal experts expect the Supreme Court to make a decision on whether to hear the case before a ban takes effect in mid-January.
What will happen in court on Monday?
Oral arguments will be held in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where TikTok, ByteDance and a group of TikTok users sued to overturn the law.
The law specified that any challenges must be heard by this court, in part because its judges are familiar with national security arguments.