TikTok files emergency request with SCOTUS one month prior to possible ban

TikTok, the controversial social media platform that has grown into one of the most popular apps around, is leaving no option behind as it attempts to block a potential ban come January.

According to NPR, the platform filed an emergency order with the U.S. Supreme Court this week asking it to review a lower court's decision regarding blocking the banning of the app if it isn't sold to a U.S. entity. 

The request comes just days after a federal appeals court upheld the January deadline for the company to be sold to a U.S. entity, or face banishment altogether.

The January deadline was set into play with a federal law passed last year, citing privacy concerns given the platform's parent company, ByteDance, has alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

NPR noted:

Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law's Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok's more than 170 million users in the U.S.

Lawyers for the company argued that more time is needed for the company to consider its next move before being shut down completely, especially given its popularity.

"A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed," TikTok's lawyers told the high court.

The delay might be easily explainable, as the company is probably hoping to skip ahead to when President-elect Donald Trump is finally sitting back in the Oval Office.

Trump, who was originally for banning the app, changed his tune over the years and most recently said he has a "warm spot" in his heart for TikTok.

"As you know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. Trump's campaign relied heavily on the app to reach a younger audience that proved crucial in his reelection victory.

Trump also said his administration would take a look at the situation once he's in office.

The deadline provided to TikTok to sell to a U.S.-based entity is Jan. 19, just a day before Trump assumes the White House.

Creators who rely on TikTok for their livelihoods are also in the fight to keep the app alive, no matter the circumstances.

Only time will tell if the Supreme Court intervenes, and, if so, to what degree.