The US Supreme Court has upheld a ban on TikTok, meaning the Chinese-owned video app faces being shut down on Sunday – the day before Donald Trump takes office.
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.
This mean Apple and Google are now mandated to remove TikTok from their mobile download stores on Sunday – the day before Mr Trump’s inauguration.
The video app has reportedly made plans to stop functioning with a pop-up message directing users to information about the ban.
Last year Joe Biden signed a law passed by Congress that banned TikTok on national security grounds unless its Chinese owner ByteDance sold its US operations.
However, ByteDance has so far refused to countenance selling the app, instead pursuing a series of legal challenges against the law that culminated in the Supreme Court appeal.
The Supreme Court had appeared set to uphold the law during hearings last week, with justices questioning TikTok’s arguments that they should overturn the ban on free speech grounds.
Trump had urged the Supreme Court to delay the ban until after he took office, saying he wanted to work on a “political resolution”. Around 170m Americans use TikTok.
On the campaign trail Mr Trump, who once tried to ban the app, had promised to “save TikTok”. Shou Zi Chew, its chief executive, is due to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Chinese officials have reportedly discussed a potential deal that could involve Elon Musk acquiring the app through his social network X, or being part of a transaction in some way, although TikTok has dismissed the claim as “fiction”.
Mr Trump held his first phone call with Xi Jinping since leaving the White House on Friday, according to Chinese state media.
US billionaire Frank McCourt and US investor Kevin O’Leary have said they would be interested in buying TikTok. Microsoft was in talks over a deal to acquire the app in 2020.
TikTok has told US staff that their jobs are safe, telling them on Tuesday: “Our leadership team remains laser-focused on planning for various scenarios and continuing to plan the way forward.”
Concerns around TikTok have ranged from the amount of personal data collected by the app, to fears that its algorithm could be manipulated to promote pro-China viewpoints.