“In reality, there is no choice,” the petition said, adding that a forced sale “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.”
A federal appeals court issued a ruling in December that upheld the law, saying the U.S. government “acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”
A week later, the appeals court denied TikTok’s bid to delay the law from taking effect pending a Supreme Court review.
On Dec. 16, TikTok asked the Supreme Court for a temporary pause, saying it would suffer “immediate irreparable harm” if the ban is not delayed.
Two days later, the Supreme Court said it would take up the challenge to the law under an expedited timeline. It scheduled arguments for Jan. 10, nine days before the law takes effect.