By John Fritze and Devan Cole

(CNN) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether a controversial ban on the social media app TikTok violates the First Amendment, adding a major case to its docket this term just before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The high court agreed to expedite the case and hear arguments on January 10.

TikTok’s appeal to the Supreme Court thrusts the justices into a high-profile fight between Congress, which has cited national security concerns over China’s control of the app, and the platform’s users and executives, who argue that the ban violates the First Amendment.

Congress passed the ban with bipartisan support earlier this year, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in April. The law came in response to years of concern in Washington that TikTok’s Chinese parent company poses a national security risk, though Congress has said the app could still operate in the US if it divests from Chinese ownership.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, unanimously upheld the ban in a ruling that said the government had a national security interest in regulating the platform in the United States.

Underscoring the significance of the case over TikTok’s fate, the court’s handling of the social media company’s appeal was unusual — and unusually fast.

In most cases, even emergency ones, the court reviews written briefings from both sides before deciding whether to hear arguments on its regular docket. In this case, it dispensed with that procedure and agreed to hear the appeal immediately.

In announcing it will hear arguments over the law’s constitutionality, the court also said it was deferring its consideration of whether to temporarily block the ban until the day of oral arguments, suggesting the justices could issue a ruling in the case mere days before the law is set to take effect on January 19.

The appeal landed on the high court’s emergency docket days after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously turned down the company’s request to temporarily block the law.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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