US Supreme Court to consider TikTok bid to halt ban

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to hear a bid by TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban on national security grounds.

The justices did not immediately act on an emergency request by TikTok and ByteDance, as well as some of its users who post content on the social media platform, for an injunction to halt the looming ban, opting instead to hear arguments on the matter on Jan. 10.

The challengers are appealing a lower court's ruling that upheld the law. TikTok is used by about 170 million Americans.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham and Chizu Nomiyama)

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