TikTok asks U.S. Supreme Court to block ban

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - TikTok has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a bipartisan law that would ban the social media app in the United States.

The law will go into effect on January 19 if the justices don't grant the company's request.

The bipartisan measure was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The law, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would require TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban.

TikTok has challenged the law, saying it violates its free speech rights under the First Amendment.

The federal government has defended the law on national security grounds, saying there are concerns about the chinese government's influence over the app.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law, despite finding that it did implicate the First Amendment and needed to be reviewed very closely.

TikTok asked the Supreme Court to act by January 6.

TikTok was launched in the U.S. in 2018, and now claims 170 million American use the platform.

In the past, President-Elect Donald Trump supported a ban, but now says he has a "warm spot" for the app, suggesting he wants to save it.

Trump reportedly has a scheduled meeting with TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida next week.