As the end of the year draws near, the impending TikTok ban in the U.S. becomes more pressing. TikTok, along with its parent firm, ByteDance, has sought an emergency injunction to postpone the ban after a U.S. court of appeals ruling last Friday that affirmed the restriction. If the injunction is not granted, TikTok will have to shut down its operations in the U.S. by January 19.

In a filing made to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Monday, TikTok has urged that the ban not take effect until the Supreme Court has had a chance to review the case. The company articulated its plan to appeal and maintained that the Supreme Court is inclined to examine and potentially overturn the lower court’s ruling.

In its submission, TikTok noted, “[The Court of Appeals’] finding that the Act meets strict scrutiny is bound to draw the Supreme Court’s scrutiny. As limitations on speech have only withstood strict scrutiny in rare and limited situations, the Supreme Court will likely want to ensure that this Court’s ruling has not diminished that vital standard.”

Strict scrutiny is a legal framework mandating that laws curtailing free expression must be specifically designed to advance a compelling state interest and should employ the least intrusive means to achieve that aim. TikTok contended that the U.S. government did not meet this criterion, arguing that the ban was imposed without considering less drastic options.

When contemplating an injunction, courts assess factors including the probability of success on appeal and the potential harm to the parties if the injunction is not granted. TikTok’s petition underscored that the ban would inflict “severe and irreparable harm” to the company, while a temporary hold on the ban would present no immediate threat to U.S. national security.

TikTok further mentioned that Congress had already extended the ban’s implementation by 270 days, indicating that the alleged national security concern was not pressing enough to circumvent judicial examination. The firm contended that the government’s justification for the ban depended on hypothetical assertions, claiming that China “could” exploit TikTok, instead of showing proof of actual or imminent threat.

Moreover, TikTok brought attention to the public interest in approving the injunction, characterizing itself as “one of the most popular speech platforms in America.” Should the injunction be rejected, the platform will find itself banned merely one day before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025.

“The Supreme Court has a well-documented history of safeguarding Americans’ rights to free speech, and we are confident they will uphold that precedent regarding this significant constitutional matter,” TikTok remarked in a statement reacting to the court’s ruling. “Regrettably, the TikTok ban was conceived and advanced based on misleading, flawed, and speculative information, leading to outright censorship of the American populace. If the TikTok ban proceeds, it will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans both in the U.S. and globally on January 19th, 2025.”

TikTok also cautioned about the economic ramifications of a ban, estimating that small enterprises might suffer over $1 billion in revenue losses within a month, while creators could potentially see $300 million in earnings evaporate.

The company has asked the Court of Appeals to reach a decision on the injunction by December 16.