TikTok asked a federal appeals court Monday to put on hold a law that could potentially ban the popular social media app next month as it prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court. 

TikTok and ByteDance, its China-based parent company, filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asking for a temporary injunction to prevent the law — which requires ByteDance to sell the app or face a U.S. ban — from taking effect Jan. 19. 

“That would shut down TikTok—one of the Nation’s most popular speech platforms—for its more than 170 million domestic monthly users on the eve of a presidential inauguration,” TikTok and ByteDance wrote.  

“Before that happens, the Supreme Court should have an opportunity, as the only court with appellate jurisdiction over this action, to decide whether to review this exceptionally important case,” they continued.  

“And an injunction is especially appropriate because it will give the incoming Administration time to determine its position—which could moot both the impending harms and the need for Supreme Court review,” they added. 

A three-judge panel from the appeals court upheld the TikTok divest-or-ban law on Friday, finding that it did not violate the First Amendment.  

The law, which moved rapidly through Congress earlier this year with widespread bipartisan support, required ByteDance to divest from TikTok within about nine months or face a ban on U.S. networks and app stores. 

Shortly after it was signed into law by President Biden in April, TikTok and ByteDance sued, arguing that divestment wasn’t a feasible option and that the impending ban was unconstitutional. 

While the appeals court acknowledged that the law did implicate the First Amendment, it found that it cleared the “high bar” to which constitutional challenges are subjected. 

“The Act was the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and by successive presidents,” the court wrote. “It was carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary, and it was part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC.” 

TikTok and ByteDance have asked the appeals court to decide on its request to put the law on hold by Dec. 16.  

The Justice Department’s lawyers said in a letter to the court clerk that it is prepared to comply with the filing deadlines proposed by TikTok and ByteDance but also urged the court to deny their request. 

“The Court is familiar with the relevant facts and law and has definitively rejected petitioners’ constitutional claims in a thorough decision that recognizes the critical national-security interests underlying the Act,” the government wrote. 

“An expedient decision by this Court denying petitioners’ motions, without awaiting the government’s response, would be appropriate to maximize the time available for the Supreme Court’s consideration of petitioners’ submissions,” it added. 

As TikTok prepares to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, the upcoming presidential transition appears to be top of mind, as seen by the company’s filing Monday.  

President-elect Trump said during the campaign that he opposed the TikTok law and urged voters to support him in order to “save TikTok.” His stance on the app represented a significant departure from his first term in office, during which he similarly attempted to force a divestiture. 

However, it remains to be seen what Trump has in store for TikTok. His transition team has yet to offer details about the new administration’s plans for the app.