​TikTok confirms that it will shut down in the US by January 19 if ban is upheld

TikTok has confirmed that it will cease operations in the US by January 19 should a ban of the app be upheld.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the streaming platform's appeal against the ban today, just nine days before the law is supposed to take effect — and the day before Donald Trump will be inaugurated as US President.

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According to The Guardian, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance asked the Supreme Court to review the case, after it was ruled that a law to ban the app in the US would be upheld.

The ban is due to take place this month unless TikTok is sold by ByteDance to a non-Chinese company. ByteDance claimed that divestiture is “not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally”, reports The Guardian.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was passed in April, has led to the legal battle.

The law prohibits “distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services” for any apps owned by a “covered company” controlled by a “foreign adversary” such as China, North Korea, Iran or Russia. Due to ByteDance being owned by a Chinese conglomerate, it falls under this category.

The Supreme Court could potentially block the law if at least five of nine justices rule it to be unconstitutional, as per The Independent.

The US government has said that the information TikTok harvests from users could be used by China for “espionage”, “blackmail”, or “sowing discord and disinformation during a crisis”, according to CBS News.

Meanwhile, Associated Press reports that lawyers for TikTok have countered that the planned US shutdown is a threat to free speech, and will silence the 170 million Americans who use the app. Lawyers for TikTok have also described the government’s arguments to ban the app as “at war with the First Amendment.”

According to CBS News, one of Trump’s lawyers filed a “friend of the court” brief requesting that implementation of the law be paused.

Trump’s attorney, John Sauer reportedly wrote: "President Trump takes no position on the merits of the dispute. Instead, he urges the Court to stay the statute's effective date to allow his incoming Administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government's national security concerns.”

According to NPR, a decision in the case is not expected today.

Henrietta Taylor is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter