TikTok is making an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court as the January 19th ban deadline approaches, following a meeting between TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and President-elect Trump.

The Supreme Court Building. Photo Credit: Joe Ravi

The ByteDance-owned platform filed an emergency injunction request after an appellate panel upheld the law that would force TikTok to shut down U.S. operations unless sold. The company has consistently opposed selling, citing operational impracticality.

Key points from TikTok's 50-page Supreme Court petition:

• Describes the ban as "a massive and unprecedented speech restriction"
• Warns of "substantial and unrecoverable monetary and competitive harms"
• Highlights potential damage to small businesses using the platform
• Emphasizes technical complexity of U.S.-only shutdown
• Requests Supreme Court ruling by January 6th due to implementation timeline

The situation remains critical as:

• Current ban deadline is January 19th (one day before Trump's inauguration)
• Congress has notified Google and Apple to prepare for app store removal
• TikTok needs lead time to implement potential shutdown
• Company continues facing regulatory scrutiny in other countries

Despite a recent meeting between CEO Shou Zi Chew and President-elect Trump, who has expressed having a "warm spot" for the app, TikTok will cease U.S. operations on January 19th without either:

• Supreme Court injunction
• 90-day deadline extension
• Divestment agreement

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