In the case currently before the Court, TikTok has sued the U.S. government on First Amendment grounds, arguing that the law impermissibly chills free speech — both that of its users and the company itself. Attorney Noel Francisco told the Court on Friday that the ban constitutes “uniquely harsh treatment” toward ByteDance and TikTok.

The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court. The justices largely hold the app’s fate in their hands as they hear the case Friday.

The Supreme Court's nine justices heard arguments on Friday in a challenge by TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance to a law that would force a sale or ban the widely used short-video app by Jan.