The China-based parent company Bytedance has until January 19 to sell Tiktok to an American owner. If not, it will be banned from the American market.
The background is the law that was passed in April last year. In the USA, it has been pointed out that the company collects data from American users that can ultimately reach the Chinese state, something Bytedance has categorically denied.
"Threat to security"
The company has encountered several setbacks since the law was adopted. As recently as the beginning of December, a federal court in the USA announced that the law on a possible ban stands.
Tiktok, which believes that the ban violates freedom of speech, is now pinning its hopes on the Supreme Court, which announced before Christmas that it will take up the issue on January 10.
Another possible solution for Tiktok is the new American administration. During his previous term, Donald Trump threatened to stop Tiktok and claimed that the app posed a threat to national security.
Now, different tones are being heard. The incoming president, who will be sworn in the day after a possible ban on Tiktok takes effect, has asked the Supreme Court to postpone the decision on the ban. Trump wants, among other things, to seek a "political solution".
Donald Trump himself created an account on Tiktok during his presidential campaign and before the election, he wrote on his platform, Truth Social, that he would "save Tiktok in the USA", writes NBC.
Unclear about the decision
How long the Supreme Court will need to reach a decision after Friday's meeting is unclear, reports the news agency AP.
If the ban becomes a reality, the app will no longer be available for download. Those who already have Tiktok will have access to the app, but it will eventually stop working as no updates will be possible, according to the American Justice Department.
