SCOTUS seems likely to uphold a law that could ban TikTok in the US this month

#GRWM… to decide TikTok’s future. On Friday, the US Supreme Court heard arguments over the TikTok ban-or-divest law, which could lead to the app’s 170M American users losing For You Page access. The supremes’ ruling, expected soon, will decide whether the popular app can be banned in the US on January 19, if Chinese parent ByteDance doesn’t divest from it (spoiler: it has no plans to sell). If ByteDance doesn’t ditch its controlling stake and the court doesn’t halt the law, the app will effectively be blocked from US devices. App stores including Apple’s and Google’s would face huge fines if they offered TikTok or pushed app updates.

• Comments: TikTok lawyers and creators have argued that the law violates free-speech rights. US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar insisted that the app’s Chinese ownership is a national-security risk that can be stemmed only by a ban or divestment.

• SCOTUS appeared to be leaning toward upholding the law. Though Justices Gorsuch and Kagan raised concerns that it could infringe on the First Amendment, most appeared to agree that the law was targeted at national security, not free speech.

• Trump card? POTUS-elect Trump — who backpedaled on his 2020 attempt to block TikTok by saying he’d try to save the app — made a controversial move by asking SCOTUS to pause the ban’s deadline until he takes office on January 20.

When life gives you lemons… promote Lemon8. ByteDance has been pushing TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8, for years. But as the Tik ban turned from a worst-case scenario to a very likely reality, the push has intensified. TikTok creators, some paid by ByteDance, have been urging followers to download the Instagram-like app. Last month, US page views for Lemon8 spiked to 5M.