ReutersTikTok will appear before the US Supreme Court on Friday in a final attempt to overturn the ban, in a case that tests the limits of national security and freedom of expression.
The popular social media platform is challenging a law passed last year ordering the company to be separated from its Chinese owner or banned from the United States by January 19.
The US government says that without a sale, China could use TikTok as a tool for espionage and political manipulation.
But TikTok rejects that claim, arguing that it has been unfairly targeted and that the action violates the freedom of expression of some 170 million American users.
Lower courts sided with the government, but the case became complicated last month when President-elect Donald Trump commented on the dispute and asked for a temporary halt to enforcement of the law to give him time to reach an agreement.
Analysts said it is not clear what the Supreme Court will decide, but overturning the previous ruling – even with the blessing of the future president – would be unusual.
“When you have a real government interest that conflicts with a real constitutional value, it ends up being a very close issue,” said Saurabh Vishnubhakat, a law professor at Cardozo College.
“But in such close cases, the government often gets the benefit of the doubt.”
A decision could be made by the Supreme Court within days.
Congress passed the law against TikTok last year with bipartisan support. The moment was the culmination of years of concern about the hugely popular platform, known for its viral videos and appeal among young people.
The legislation does not prevent the use of the application, but it will require technology giants such as Apple and Google to stop offering it and prevent updates, which analysts indicate will eliminate it over time.
TikTok has already been banned on government devices in several countries, including the UK. It faces a more comprehensive ban in some countries, including India.
The US says TikTok poses a “serious” threat because the Chinese government could force its owner, ByteDance, to hand over user data or manipulate what it shows users to serve Chinese interests.
Last December, a three-judge appeals court decision upheld the law, citing China's record of working through private companies, and said the measure was justified as “part of a broader effort to confront the well-substantiated national security threat” posed by the country.
TikTok has repeatedly denied any potential Chinese Communist Party influence and said the law violates its users' First Amendment free speech rights.
It asked the Supreme Court to strike down the law as unconstitutional, or to order a stay of its implementation to enable a review of the legislation, which it said was based on “inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information.”
Trump is scheduled to take office the day after the law takes effect.
He had called for banning the app in the United States during his first term, but changed his tune during the election campaign.
The memorandum filed by Trump's lawyers late last month did not take a position on the legal dispute, but said the case represented “an unprecedented, new, and difficult tension between free speech rights on the one hand, and foreign policy and national security concerns on the other side.” last”.
Referring to his election victory, she said that Trump “opposes the TikTok ban” and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues raised through political means once in office.”
The filing came less than two weeks after Trump met with the TikTok chief at Mar-a-Lago.
One of the president-elect's major donors, Jeff Yass of Susequahana International Group, is a major shareholder in the company.
However, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, supports banning the platform.
Investors who have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok include former Trump Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
Attorney Peter Choharis, part of a group that filed its own brief in support of the US government's case, said it was difficult to predict what the court — which has a conservative majority — would do, noting that several of the court's recent decisions have overturned long-standing precedent.
But he said that even if Trump is given the opportunity to try to reach an agreement, he expects a ban to eventually be imposed.
“I don’t see any president, including future President Trump, being able to resolve this in a way that is satisfactory to US national security because I don’t think ByteDance would agree to it,” he said.
The prospect of TikTok losing ground in the US has angered many users, some of whom filed their own lawsuit last year.
The decision to shut down TikTok “because the ideas on that platform might convince Americans of one thing or another — even of something that might harm our democracy — is completely inconsistent with the First Amendment,” they said in their filing.
Other groups weighing in on the dispute include the American Civil Liberties Union and the Foundation for Freedom of the Press, which said the United States has failed to provide “credible evidence of ongoing or imminent harm” caused by the social media app.
Choharis said that the government has the right to take measures to defend itself, considering that the battle is not about “rhetoric” or “content” but rather about the role of the Chinese government.
“It's about control and how the Chinese Communist Party specifically, and the Chinese government in general, are seeking to achieve strategic goals using many internet companies and especially social media companies — including TikTok specifically,” he said.
