The Supreme Court hears oral arguments Friday in a case over the future of social media giant TikTok in the United States, a challenge that experts say also could affect the power of Congress to regulate social media.
The justices will have just nine days to decide what to do with the case before Jan. 19, when the federal law requires China-based Bytedance Ltd. sell the subsidiary running the American version of the app or face a ban. The Biden administration has defended the law, arguing that the Chinese government could access the data of U.S. users or influence what they see on the app.
The company, and its users, argue that Congress used unsupported fears of foreign influence to ban a social media platform used by more than 170 million Americans in violation of the First Amendment. They have argued for the justices to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last year upholding the law.
