The Supreme Court announced it will take up whether a law that could ban TikTok nationwide violates the First Amendment, setting the stage for a fast-paced, high-stakes battle over free speech.
In an order issued Wednesday, the court said it will hold oral arguments on Jan. 10 on the video sharing platform’s bid to invalidate the law requiring them to divest from their Chinese parent company or face a ban.
The move comes after TikTok filed an emergency application asking the justices to delay their Jan. 19 divest-or-ban deadline. The court opted to move the emergency appeal to its normal docket to immediately take up the case in full.
A federal appeals court upheld the law earlier this month, finding that it did not violate the First Amendment as TikTok has argued. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the government’s national security concerns justified the “significant” impacts of a potential ban and superseded any free speech concerns.
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