TikTok turns to US supreme court in last-ditch bid to avert divest-or-ban law

Firm and parent company ByteDance file request for injunction to halt ban of app used by 170 million Americans

TikTok made a last-ditch effort on Monday to continue operating in the United States, asking the US supreme court to temporarily block a law intended to force ByteDance, its China-based parent company, to divest the short-video app by 19 January or face a ban.

TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency request to the justices for an injunction to halt the looming ban on the social media app used by about 170 million Americans while they appeal a lower court's ruling that upheld the law. A group of US users of the app filed a similar request on Monday as well.