The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on whether a bill that could ban TikTok in the US violates the First Amendment, a move that offers a glimmer of hope for the app's survival in the country. The arguments are scheduled to take place on January 10th, just over a week before a potential ban could take effect.

The law at the center of the case, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, seeks to prohibit apps like TikTok from being owned by companies in a set list of foreign adversary countries. The Department of Justice has defended the law as constitutional, arguing that the government has a compelling interest in protecting US national security from foreign influence.

Congress voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill after classified briefings in which intelligence officials shared concerns over how China could potentially use the app to exert influence over the kinds of content US users see, and potentially access sensitive data. However, publicly, the government has not come forward with declassified information showing such dangers are already happening.

TikTok filed for an emergency injunction to the Supreme Court just two days ago, and the court has agreed to consolidate two cases against the law, from both TikTok and a group of creators on the platform. The parties will get a total of two hours to make their cases, and the court said it would defer a decision on whether to halt the law until after the oral arguments.

The lower court had declined to stop the law from taking effect pending the Supreme Court's review. The deadline for the ban, unless the court stops it, is the day before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump, who has noted his success on TikTok in the campaign, at one point seemingly promised to save the app, although his more recent comments post-election make it less clear how exactly he'd plan to do that.

The president has discretion to extend the deadline 90 days, though one big remaining question is whether China would even agree to let ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, sell the app. The outcome of the Supreme Court's decision is far from guaranteed, but the court's agreement to hear the case is a small win for TikTok, which is fighting to avoid being expelled from the US.

The implications of a TikTok ban would be significant, with millions of users in the US relying on the app for entertainment, socialization, and self-expression. A ban would also have major consequences for the creators and influencers who have built their careers on the platform. The Supreme Court's decision will be closely watched, and its outcome could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry and US-China relations.

In the meantime, TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in a meeting that could potentially influence the outcome of the case. As the deadline for the ban approaches, all eyes will be on the Supreme Court, waiting to see if it will intervene to save TikTok from expulsion.