Supreme Court agrees to hear TikTok’s challenge to U.S. ban

The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could ban the popular social media app in the U.S. The move expedites the case to be heard at a special session on Jan. 10, shortly before the law is set to go into effect on Jan. 19.

The news comes only two days after TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court.

With an estimated 170 million users in the U.S., the ban would have wide implications. The app, which has been in the U.S. since 2018, has become a hub for news, entertainment, shopping and marketing for its primarily Generation Z and millennial audience.

Mortgage professionals have previously offered their opinions on the ban and its potential impact on their businesses. Many have professional ties to the app and use it for business leads and educational purposes.

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied TikTok’s request to freeze a law that requires the company to sell the app or face a ban in the U.S. by Jan. 19. The court said in a filing that an injunction was “unwarranted.”

Earlier this month, judges in the same court unanimously denied petitions from the company and its users to overturn the law. TikTok then asked the court on Dec. 9 to temporarily block the law until the Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump could weigh in. The company sought a decision by Dec. 16, HousingWire previously reported.