The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on TikTok’s future in the US on Friday, which could see the popular app banned as early as next week.

The justices will consider whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the law aimed at banning TikTok and imposing harsh civil penalties on app “entities” that continue to offer the service after January 19, violates violates the U.S. Constitution’s protection of free speech.

It is unclear when the court will make a decision, and if Chinese company ByteDance continues to refuse to sell TikTok to an American company, it could face a nationwide ban.

The approximately 115 million monthly active US TikTok users could face different scenarios depending on when the Supreme Court makes a decision.

If there is no notice before the law goes into effect on January 19th and the ban goes into effect, it is possible that users will still be able to post or interact with the app if they have already downloaded it. However, those users would likely not be able to update or re-download the app after that date, several legal experts said.

Thousands of short-form video creators who earn income on TikTok through advertising revenue, paid partnerships, merchandise and more will likely need to shift their business to other platforms like YouTube or Instagram.

“Shutting down TikTok, even for a single day, would be a big deal, not just for the people who create content on TikTok, but for everyone who shares or views content,” said George Wang, an attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute helped write the Institute’s amicus briefs in the case.

“It sets a really dangerous precedent for the way we regulate expression online,” Wang said.

Dozens of high-profile amicus briefs from organizations, members of Congress and President-elect Donald Trump have been filed in support of both the government and ByteDance.

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s administration claims that until ByteDance divests TikTok, the app remains a “powerful tool for espionage” and a “potent weapon for covert influence.”

Trump expressed no support for either side in his brief, but urged the court to oppose a ban on the platform and allow him to find a policy solution that would allow the service to continue while addressing concerns about the platform national security taken into account.

The short-video app played a notable role in both Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaigns and is one of the most common sources of news for younger voters.

In a September Truth Social post, Trump wrote in all caps: Americans who want to save TikTok should vote for him. The post was cited in his amicus brief.

It is unclear when the Supreme Court will make its decision, but the expedited hearing of the case has some suggesting the court could make a quick decision.

The case will have a “tremendous impact” because TikTok’s user base in the U.S. is so large, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law.

“It is unprecedented for the government to ban speech platforms, especially ones that so many people use,” Chemerinsky said. “Ultimately, this is a tension between questions of free expression on the one hand and claims to national security on the other.”

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