US Supreme Court justices reportedly are in favour of upholding a ban on TikTok due to national security concerns following more than two hours of deliberations last week.

Bloomberg reported a majority of the nine judges that comprise the nation’s highest court are leaning towards banning the social media site unless TikTok parent ByteDance sells it to a US entity before the 19 January deadline.

During the hearing, TikTok lawyers and content creators maintain the impending ban violates the 170 million users’ free speech interests, according to Bloomberg. However, several justices voiced their concern over ByteDance’s alleged close ties with the Chinese Communist government.

“Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is in fact subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” chief justice John Roberts asked TikTok’s lawyer, according to the news site.

TikTok attorney Noel Francisco told news outlets after the hearing the Supreme Court justices “understand the importance of this case” and that it is “very hopeful of a favourable decision”.

NBC News reported a preliminary decision by the Supreme Court is “likely in days, if not hours”.

After initially supporting a proposed ban of TikTok in his first term, President-elect Donald Trump stated in December 2024 that he has a “warm spot in my heart for TikTok”.

Trump asked the Supreme Court to postpone hearing arguments by TikTok and ByteDance on 10 January about the proposed ban until he becomes president.

A US government lawyer said during the hearing that it is not clear if Trump could extend the divestiture deadline once he is sworn into office on 20 January.

The New York Times reported the social media app will likely disappear from Google and Apple app stores if TikTok is banned. Current users may still be able to access the service, but will no longer be able to download updates, which will likely lead to the app degrading over time.

In April 2024, US President Joe Biden signed legislation that required China-based ByteDance to sell-off its US assets due to it being a national security risk.

A bill by the US House of Representatives would have given ByteDance six months to sell its interest in TikTok, but the Senate amended it to nine months.

In December 2024, an appeals court upheld the potential ban.