TikTok on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to intervene to block a federal law that would have banned the popular platform in the United States unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance agreed to sell it.

Lawyers for the company and ByteDance urged the judges to step in before the law expires on January 19. A similar request was made by content creators who rely on the platform to make money and some of TikTok’s more than 170 million US users

“A modest delay in the implementation of the Act will create space for this Court to conduct an orderly review and for the new administration to evaluate this issue – before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” lawyers for the companies told the Supreme Court.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who once supported the ban but later promised to “save TikTok” during the campaign, said his administration would review the situation.

“As you know, TikTok is dear to my heart,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. His campaign saw the platform as a way to reach younger, less politically engaged voters.

Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, according to two people familiar with the president-elect’s plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The companies said a shutdown lasting just a month would cause TikTok to lose significant advertising revenue and about a third of its daily users in the US.

The case could draw the court’s interest because it pits free speech rights against the government’s stated goals of protecting national security, while also raising new questions about social media platforms.

The application first goes to Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees urgent appeals to the capital’s courts. It is almost certain that they will seek the opinion of all nine judges.

The ban should come into effect on January 19

On Friday, a panel of federal judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied an emergency request to block the law, a procedural decision that allowed the case to move to the Supreme Court.

The same commission had previously unanimously supported the bill because of First Amendment challenges, arguing that it violates free speech rights.

Without the court-ordered freeze, the law would have gone into effect on January 19, exposing app stores and web hosting services that offer TikTok to possible fines.

It is up to the Ministry of Justice to enforce the law, investigate possible violations and seek sanctions. But lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance argue that Trump’s Justice Department could pause enforcement or otherwise try to mitigate the law’s most severe consequences. Trump takes office the day after the law goes into effect.

The Supreme Court could temporarily put the law on hold so the justices can take a closer look at the First Amendment and other issues. They could also quickly schedule hearings and try to reach a decision by January 19.

Alternatively, the high court could reject an urgent appeal, allowing the law to go into effect as planned.

With that last possibility in mind, lawyers for the companies requested a decision on their emergency request by January 6, 2025, as they will need time “to coordinate with their service providers to complete the complex task of shutting down TikTok platforms in the United States only.”

The case made its way through the courts relatively quickly after a bipartisan majority in Congress approved the bill and President Joe Biden signed it into law in April.